Hyrule Castle High
by Rhaylt Zheirt
Summary: Aryll is autistic. Link will do anything for her, including work at the expense of his grades. Sheik is trans, to his father's chagrin. Shadow's dad has a temper and can't stand Shadow's veganism. Nobody knows what's up with the mysterious Vaati, Midna's trying to avoid being married off, and Nabooru is just faced with your standard every day racism. Nobody likes Gerudos!
1. Chapter 1

AN: So here's my own version of a high school Zelda! Inspired by The Weekly Hylian News by BatNeko. I needed more high school drama. It's my own fresh take, though, and my own versions of Link, Zelda, and Shadow.

Just to be clear, I am NOT a romance author by any means, so this will likely be one of if not the MOST PG or G LGBT stories on and will likely NOT include ANY actual physical romance besides hand holding and MAAAAYBE a peck on the cheek . . . fair warning. I'm not writing this for fluffy reasons, I actually want to portray the characters as realistically LGBT. QA. I. All the other letters in the genderbread soup! Not that those romantic stories are any less valid. Not at ALL. That is NOT what I am trying to insinuate. I just want it to be clear what you're getting in this story before you invest any time in it. Also because I am Just. Not. A. Romance. Author.

Also, WARNING: There will be some religion, sort of. Like, the goddesses are a thing. That's all. I find the deism of Hyrule fascinating so I really wanted to include it. Not trying to preach anything here.

Also, I don't mean to offend. I can only do my best to represent realistic characters, so if you see something that you think it particularly realistically written, please let me know! And if there's anything offensive, DEFINITELY let me know so I can change it!

Enjoy~

* * *

Hyrule Castle High

 _New year, new school_ , Link thought, zipping up his green hoodie in front of the mirror. It had a particularly spiky hood (his grandma had made it), and it had a faded triforce emblem across the front. His jeans were baggy, and old. He stared at himself in the mirror. His eyes were bleary, his face still puffy from lack of sleep and then _too much_ sleep.

A deep sigh escaped him. He left his room and trudged downstairs. "Grandma?"

"Down here, honey! I've got some nice soup for your first day today!" As always, Granny was wearing a magenta dress with a yellow apron, her silvery hair pulled up in a bun on top of her head. She was one of those sweet old ladies that had plenty of cushiness that made hugging them so wonderful, but she also had tiny feet and hands. Her eyes seemed always to be closed in a smile, although lately that hadn't been true as much.

"Soup again?" Link uttered automatically—they'd been eating it since they got here and it warranted a comment—but he was obviously pleased. He never got tired of Grandma's soup. It was one of the few things that still got him to smile.

Granny put his sack lunch on the counter. "Here you are, dear."

"Thank you, Grandma. Is Aryll up yet?"

She shook her head.

"Hm. She's been sleeping in a lot. Well, I guess I should get going."

His grandmother nodded and waited for him to leave. He didn't. At the queasy look on his face, she put a hand on his arm and said, "Now, deary, don't worry, everything will be fine! You're my grandson, after all!"

Link put his own hand over hers. "I know, Grandma. It's just . . . different."

"Oh, but you're going to see Zelda again, yes?"

He gave a small smile. "Yeah. It'll be good to see her again. At least I won't be totally alone." Here he paused. "Are you sure you're okay with Aryll?"

She straightened her mouth and nodded firmly. "I'm going to have to be okay! Might as well start today. Don't you worry, honey, you just pay attention in class and make new friends, okay? Grandma will take care of everything else."

"Okay." He finally made his way to the door. "Love you, Grandma."

"You, too! Have fuuuuun!" She waved a tiny hand as he left and the screen door shut behind him. Only then did she clasp her hands in front of her and let a frown cross her face. She looked to the sky. "Dear Goddesses, protect my poor boy today. Let him feel comfort, and if you're willing, give me some of that weight he feels he must carry on his shoulders."

* * *

Hyrule Castle High. A large, spacious campus with courtyards and a gigantic sports complex, including polo and field hockey. Even rugby. Renowned for it courses on politics and history. Link stared at it as he got off the school bus.

He had expected to go to Castle Town High, which was basically school for poor kids like him, but because of a generous donation from Zelda's father, a Hylian senator, he had ended up at Hyrule Castle High instead. Mr. Harkinian had said Link's grades from his previous school proved he needed a higher education, but also there was something about a favor to his parents. Luckily, it was the beginning of the school year, so the transfer shouldn't be too difficult.

A lump formed in Link's throat, and he made a fist, putting all of his sudden emotions in it and visualizing them falling away as he relaxed his fist. He moved past the feelings.

Plus, he thought to continue his last thought, Zelda probably had begged her father to let Link go to her school. That made him smile. She was really smart, and insistent, and organized. They'd met one summer in Outset, where his family lived before and her family was vacationing, and since then they'd emailed and phoned back and forth and kept each other up to date about their lives.

Speaking of, he saw a girl up by the doors running toward where he stood, her straight blond hair flying behind her, blue eyes sparkling happily. She was dressed in a lavender button-up shirt and blue jeans and white canvas shoes with pastel stripes. He ran to meet her halfway.

They greeted each other and hugged before Zelda led him into the building and to the office. It was good to hear her voice, and he just let her talk and tell him what to do. He didn't want to make decisions right now, so he was glad she was with him. She helped him locate his locker, gave him a simple tour, gave him directions to all his classes (via a very handy map—did he mention that she was smart?) She had even highlighted his classrooms.

The building was so big, and clean. HUGE! And there were too many people for him to even contemplate. _This is just one school?_ So unlike his middle school in Outset.

"Okay," Zelda was saying, "So you and I have History and Archaeology together, so you just have to hold out until then, okay?"

Link nodded. "Thanks, Zelda."

She grinned, then her face fell slightly. "So, I know we have to get to homeroom, but . . . how are you?"

His smile didn't reach his eyes. "I'm okay."

Zelda snorted. "That's descriptive."

Link's smile widened.

Zelda smacked his arm. "Oh, fine, I'll see you later, okay?"

"Bye, Zelda!"

Day one wasn't so bad. He made it through alright, and it's not like he needed to pay attention on the first day of school, anyhow. After school Zelda took him on a more extensive tour, specifically of the sports complex.

"They have a _skate park?!_ " Link cried incredulously, looking at said skate park. A few teenagers were already doing stunts with skate boards and BMX bikes.

Zelda made guns of her fingers and pointed them at him. "Whaddaya say we come here after school some days and pop some kick flips?"

"You have a skateboard?"

"No, but you do, and I don't mind watching. You have a skateboard still, don't you?"

A skate park is exactly where they'd met. "That . . . that'd be awesome, Zelda."

She raised an eyebrow and one corner of her mouth curled up slyly. "I thought so."

"Do you mind if we stay and watch for a while?"

"Sure!" Zelda pulled a bag of potato chips from her back pack and sat down.

Link sat down next to her, amused. "You came prepared."

" _Always_."

There were quite a few kids here, which got Link excited. Maybe there was a skate board club or something? If the school had a skate park, there had to be a big competition or something in the city sometimes. Maybe he and Zelda could get tickets and go together.

* * *

He studied the skate boarders, checking out their moves. First there was the somewhat lanky but barrel-chested guy who actually turned out to be one of _three_. Triplets. They all had identical orange hair, small, squished noses and round cheeks. They wore green and black hipster hats and grey cargo shorts. Or, well, that was the general set up. They shared styles if not exact outfits. Besides them, there was this crazy kid on a BMX bike. He wore orange camo pants, a weird skeleton mask and an orange hoodie. Link wondered if the kid was trying to look like a juvie reject. He raced around the park seemingly as fast as he could, apparently caring more about jumping far than high. He owned the half pipes and quarter pipes. The last person to catch his eye was a girl with chin-length green hair. She wore one of those overalls that were shorts. A turtleneck sweater defied the hot weather, and she rode a scooter, one of those weird scooters with three wheels and a place for both feet. At first you might think, well, that's weird, what's a school kid doing at a teenage hangout, on a scooter? But then she would be riding it backwards, or sideways, both feet on one side or the other, not even thinking about it as she rose over jumps and flipped the scooter around under her feet, or when she scaled a half pipe sideways, or even did a full back flip on one of the larger jumps.

Those were some _sick_ moves!

Someone grabbed his hand and shoved it away. He looked at Zelda.

"You were eating all the chips," she said.

"Oh. Oops."

"Hey, look at that guy! He's new."

This guy looked like a proper skater punk. Or something. He had ripped black jeans, a black T-shirt with some kind of dragony/tattoo decoration on the front. Two chains hung from one pocket, and his skateboard had skulls on it. He had fingerless gloves. He was one of those guys who looked like he was either a druggy or just didn't get much sun—or both. But he was skinny, and his skin was grey and sickly looking. His mouth was too big for his face, and had too many teeth, and his hair was a messy black ponytail. It was obvious the other skaters didn't recognize him, either, some pausing to watch him do 360s and flips. He was obviously incredibly skilled, and Zelda and Link gaped at him when suddenly he came up their ramp, sending his board in the air, landing on his feet in front of him, then catching his board and holding it over his shoulder. He looked down at them with a gigantic grin and gave them a thumbs up. "Sup!"

"I'm Shadow."

Link and Zelda stood. Link shook his hand. "I'm Link."

"You skate, Link?"

"Yeah, but I didn't bring my board with me."

"Darn, you'll have to show me your moves! How long you been goin' here?"

"Me? I just got here."

"Oh? Me too!"

Zelda blinked. "No kidding."

"And YOU must be Princess Zelda."

She blushed. "It's just an honorary title. I really hate it, so please just call me Zelda."

Shadow laughed. "Whatever you say, princess. Hey! Watch me pull THIS off!" And off he went again. He curved around the park, building up speed until he finally hit the largest jump. As soon as his board left the ramp he began turning, 180, 360, 540, _720!_ and landed soundly. Link whooped into the air, and Zelda clapped politely. Shadow flashed a peace sign at them and stuck his tongue out. Then he continued skating.

Link and Zelda looked at each other. "Ready to go?" Zelda asked. Link nodded. "There's a skate park near your grandma's house, too, you know."

"That's awesome . . ."

Because they spent so much time at the skate park, they'd missed all the buses. Link would just as soon walk (it wasn't that far), but Zelda insisted on giving him a ride.

Or rather, letting her chauffeur give them both a ride in her expensive-looking black limo. He and Zelda sat in the back, and her two security guards sat opposite them, wearing black suits and sunglasses. "You know you and Aryll gotta come over for dinner sometime," said Zelda.

"I don't think Aryll will be up to that for a few months. I could come to visit some days, though, maybe."

"Well otherwise you're going to have a _ton_ of paparazzi at your grandma's house, because there is no way I'm staying away from you!"

Link laughed. "Sounds good to me."

He was dropped off a minute later, and he waved goodbye as the limo drove off. He walked inside and gave a signature, "I'M HOOOOOME!"

An excited young voice came from the living room. "LINK! LINK LINK LINK LINK!" A girl of about seven ran into the entryway where Link waited, clutching a piece of paper in her hands. She stopped in front of Link, eyes scrunched closed and looking down as she proffered the drawing to him. "DRAW. D-DRAW! DRAW!"

Link took the paper. "Ah, another seagull drawing! Very good, Aryll!"

"Yes. Yes. Very good, Aryll," she repeated, eyes still shut.

Link knelt down and tried to look into her face. "Aryll, five seconds?"

She considered. Shook her head emphatically.

"Four seconds?"

Emphatic no.

"Three?"

"Mmmmmm." Suddenly Aryll popped her eyes open and stared right into his.

Link counted in his head. _One . . . two . . ._

First her nose scrunched, then her mouth turned down as though she were trying to win a staring contest.

 _Three._

Aryll put her hands over her eyes and ran as fast as she could back to the living room. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Link followed her more slowly, and when he got there she began handing more drawings to him without looking, all of seagulls. The living room had been painted the same colors as back home, a pale blue, and Link and Granny had painted seagulls and clouds—one type of cloud, because any other kinds would make Aryll upset. Link made sure to say all her favorite sentences, which included, "The seagulls are flying!" "You're a very good artist, Aryll." and "Don't forget the feet!"

Aryll scurried across the room in a mess of drawings, putting them up on the couch back, the armrests, on the walls, the coffee table, pretty much everywhere. She did this every day. After an hour, she said, "Okay now, clean up!" And began to collect all her drawings in a pile in a box which was placed carefully under the coffee table.

* * *

Granny was putting the rest of the dishes away and cleaning the kitchen before bed.

"Did she practice her words?" Link asked.

"Yes."

"What about her sensory exercises?"

"She did very well. She likes lilac."

"And her exercise?"

"She ran from her room to the living room for two hours, I figured that was enough for today."

"Did she go outside?"

"Yes, yes! Don't worry, dear, I took care of everything, and in a few days that nice new caretaker will be here to help out."

"Caretaker?"

"Yes! I finally found one I like. Her name is Romani. She's very nice, and I hear she's excellent. She came over today, she and Aryll seemed to get along famously!"

Link felt like he had missed a lot. He'd spent so much time with Aryll the in the summer that he suddenly felt very useless. He had begged the judge to not put Aryll in a care facility, at least not without him. He hated having a social worker stay in their house then, and he didn't like the idea of trusting somebody else who wasn't family with Aryll now. "Maybe I shouldn't be at school—"

Granny frowned at him. "Oh, nooooo. Link, you must stay in school!"

He placed his elbows on the counter and gestured with his hands. "But there's online public schools, I could take care of Aryll and study in the evening if I have to-"

"Link." Granny became stern and put her hands on her hips. "Are you telling me that after all the trouble Miss Zelda's father went to get you into that prestigious school that you're just going to _quit?_ "

Link looked away from her and replied quietly, "If it's for Aryll, then yes."

Granny softened. She sat down next to Link and put a hand on his arm. "I know you love Aryll very much . . . but what she needs is for her big brother to take care of himself! And that means having friends and getting out of this house once in a while. You can't let her down."

Link sighed sadly. "I guess you're right, Grandma. But I'll come home RIGHT after school from now on!"

"Hmph!" She went back to cleaning the kitchen. "I expect you back no earlier than four, six on Fridays!"

Her tone made Link grin despite himself. "But you'll call if she misses me?"

"Yes."

"And if it gets too hard for her, you'll let me stay home?"

She took in a long suffering breath, and let it out. "We will . . . discuss it. I don't know why you're worried, I hear she's the best!"

"For what we can pay for, yeah," Link muttered under his breath.

But Granny heard him anyways. "Oh, no no! She's not one of those poor underpaid, overworked government-assigned social workers, honey, we're paying for her out of pocket."

Link gasped. "But Grandma, your life savings!"

She shook her head with a smile and walked to the bread box. Instead of keeping bread in it, that's where she stuffed all of her important documents. She pulled out a vanilla envelope and a matching letter and set it in front of Link.

Feeling a bit weird, but curious, Link picked up the letter and began to read.

 _To whom it may concern-_

 _I have been notified of your plight and have included a donation. I cannot say why, but the care of Aryll Knight is important to me. This money is to be used for her care and her care only. Please find included a cashier's check for $10,000.00._

Link's mouth gaped. "Ten thousand dollars!"

"I know! I didn't believe it until I took it to the bank!"

 _You can send all receipts for her care to the following address. Do not try to reach me there, as I do not accept correspondence from that account and wish to remain anonymous. If, at this date next year, all funds have been spent toward Aryll's care and this is proven by receipts, then you can expect another donation of $10,000.00, and for every year after that until such a time as you have found another way to care for Aryll or I somehow lose all my assets._

 _Very greatly yours-_

There was no signature. Link spent the next five minutes just gaping at the letter, rereading it over and over. Who was the writer? Who could have just donated TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS? Who could afford that much at one time?! The paper was heavier, expensive, and lightly textured. It was vanilla in color, and he wasn't sure if it was the paper or the writer, but there was a peppery scent to it. He sniffed the paper up close. Definitely peppery, or something exotic, or maybe even tropical! Now his imagination was getting the better of him. The script was languid, but direct, being as concise as possible while still remaining elegant. It wasn't Mr. Harkinian's handwriting, that he knew. He'd seen the senator's handwriting on invitations to dinner he and his parents had gotten in Outset. The address the person had written was just some P.O. Box in Labrynna. Whoever this person was, they somehow owned a P.O. Box in Labrynna, but also knew about Aryll in Castle Town, and possibly even from Outset!

Who could own such a large empire? "So . . . Romani, huh?"


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Here's chapter 2! Enjoy!

* * *

Sheik slipped down the grand staircase of his family's mansion quietly and quickly. His mother was speaking to the butler, dressed in a beautiful lavender gown. Despite his quiet footsteps, his mother heard them and spun.

"GoodbyeMotherIloveyouokaybye—" The door was . . . _riiight . . . theeeeeeeeere_ . . .

"Zelda!"

Sheik stopped, a slight flush reaching his cheeks as he turned around to face his mother.

"What are you _wearing?_ "

He looked down at himself. A warrior-girl style chest binder to flatten his chest, a white tank, and a plaid blue unbuttoned shirt on top. And baggy jeans to hide the wideness of his hips. And cool black too-big sneakers because . . . he liked them. They were comfortable. The look was finished off by an okay-maybe-a-bad-choice blue hipster straight brimmed ball cap, which held his bunned hair in place, out of his face and out of the realm of 'flowy, feminine blond chick.' "Uh . . . what I want to wear?" he replied innocently, cursing his cutesy, high voice. "What's wrong with it?"

His mother shook her head. She walked over and gestured at his chest. "Honey, where are your breasts?! And those _pants!_ " She folded her arms and shook her head more emphatically. "I mean, dear, you look like a little _boy_."

 _Maybe I WANT to look like a little boy_ , he thought, the red in his cheeks deepening. He'd been fussing all night about puberty and unstoppable hormones and angry that of ALL the fourteen-year-old female bodies in the world, HIS had to be the one that matured early. He'd already had to go shopping with his mother for new bras, new pants, new shirts . . . all for the sake of 'looking good.' It was getting ridiculous. And he hated it.

"No, no," his mother was saying. "If you go out looking like _that_ , the tabloids will explode! Now take yourself upstairs and put on a proper bra. And get rid of those pants."

His eyes glassed over with a hurt his mother didn't understand. She would never understand! He obediently hurried back upstairs, feeling humiliated. Zelda spent as little time changing as possible, not even bothering to see if her clothes matched. Honestly, why bother? But, breeding is picky about clothing, so she changed _again_ and made sure she matched. _Do I have to wear earrings?_ She wore a scarf instead. Couldn't wear earrings with THIS scarf, they'd fall off, and the scarf would be a great deposit for her tears . . .

The baggy pants she had tossed on the bed. What to do with them . . .

They were actually Link's. She hadn't _meant_ to steal them, but when he left them on the beach, and they were so _comfy looking_ . . . well, obviously they would never fit LINK anymore, darn man-growing turd, so Sheik HAD to keep them! He couldn't just throw them out.

He stared at himself in the mirror as he wrapped the scarf more securely around his neck. His body spoke strongly.

 _She_.

The crushing feeling in his chest was indescribable. He bulldozed downstairs and across the hall yet again.

"Have a good day, princess!" he heard his mother.

Sticking out a hand, palm to her, emotional words flew out of his mouth incoherently. "Nuh, nuh I dun caaa-haaaaa-haaaare, muh-huh-huh-huh!" He blasted through the doors and into the limo.

Mrs. Harkinian shook her head, then said to the butler, "Hormones."

Link waltzed into the cafeteria, feeling much more confident than yesterday. He walked to the table his best friend sat at. "Hey, Zelda, I brought my skateboard today! Do you wanna go to the park after school?"

"Yeah, whatever," she answered sadly. She was picking at her lunch food, having not eaten a single bite.

 _Zelda sure is down today_ , Link thought. He sat down backwards on the bench next to her, sticking his backpack between his legs. He wasn't sure what to say or how to say it, so he said, "What'cha eating? Seems pretty nasty."

Zelda twirled her fork into the mashed goods of her lunch tray. "It's the beating remains of my young, dead-" she stabbed the fork down, "- **heart!** "

Link blinked widely. "Okay."

Shadow came careening at them from across the room. "Heeeeeeeeeey there knuckleheads, in for some skatin, bros?"

"Cool it, Shadow," Link cut in, "Zelda's having a bad day."

"Oh really?" Shadow's face became the very model of a sympathetic friend face. He sat down next to Zelda, who was too busy staring at him oddly to notice how abnormally close he'd gotten for someone she'd just met yesterday.

"Did you just call me 'bro'?" Zelda asked, deadpan.

Shadow smirked. "Oh. Sorry?"

"No." She poked him in the chest. Her face was almost comically serious and fierce. "I like it. Do it again."

Shadow had backed away slightly, then shrugged. "Okay . . . bro?"

A wide, stupid grin peeled over Zelda's face and she grabbed her chocolate milk and stuck a straw in it.

 _Wow, that was a fast change_ , Link thought. "Hey! I know, let's go to that fish food place you like."

"Oh, Link, you'll _hate it_ ," she replied. "It's not the same as the stuff you get living near the ocean, ya know."

"So?" He grinned. "We're not going for _me_ , we're going to cheer you up!"

"All-all three of us?" Shadow asked, a bit weakly.

Link considered. Then he reached over and punched Shadow's arm. "Yeah! All three of us."

Shadow's mouth twinged a little bit. "Well, gosh . . . thanks guys."

Zelda cackled around her straw.

Shadow was strangely quiet as they took the bus to Linebeck's Place. He gave Zelda's two security guards a wide berth. Some idiot at the end of the bus was taking pictures, and Shadow glanced at him oddly.

"Don't pay attention," said Zelda, "It just encourages them."

"Sheesh, I guess you're popular, huh?"

"Well, I AM the honorary prince and all. I mean princess."

"Freudian slip?"

"Shut up, Shadow!" She punched him playfully.

Shadow stretched his lanky limbs languidly. "Oh, I know, my body makes everybody want to be a guy."

Both Zelda and Link burst out laughing at that.

The three sat in a booth, Link and Zelda sat on one side and shadow slipped tentatively and stiff-backed into the other one. He looked like a fish out of water as he stared at the menu. Link and Zelda discussed what to get, and ordered quickly when the waitress arrived.

"And for you, sir?" The waitress said.

Shadow looked up with saucer eyes. Then he shut the menu and gave her a dazzling smile. "I'll just have a tomato and some water with a lemon. Is that alright?"

"Sure."

Zelda gave him an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Shadow, is there nothing on the menu you'd like?"

Link was looking at him quizzically. "Yeah, are you allergic to something or . . . something?"

Shadow leaned back casually. "Nooooo, I'm okay. I'm going through my rebellious _vegan_ phase." He put his hands behind his head and scratched the nape of his neck.

"You're a vegan?" Link asked, and without thinking, "So that's why you look so unhealthy."

"Hey!" Shadow's eyes slitted. "Animal products are as bad for you as SUGAR, didn't you know that?"

Link couldn't help but grin sheepishly. "Yeah, well, are you sure you're getting all your vitamins?"

"Oh my gosh!" Shadow rolled his eyes and slumped. "You sound like my dad!" Here he made a hilarious voice of some kind of doofus, "'You gotta get all your daily vitamins,' blah blah blah."

Link burst out laughing. "Is your dad some kind of food nut?"

"Pfft, I wish. Do you know what I have to do to get a side of fruit in my house? Sheesh."

"Well," Zelda said, "You _do_ look kinda pale, Shadow. Have you considered taking supplemental vitamins?"

Shadow put his hands on the table. "Supplements are of the devil!"

This time Link AND Zelda burst out laughing.

Shadow blew a raspberry at them. "Heathens."

Shadow said his home wasn't far and chose to skateboard home, so Zelda and Link said goodbye and took the bus back to school. Afterward they split ways and Link went home.

The rest of the week went great, school in the day, hanging out with Zelda and often Shadow in the afternoons. Link found out he and Shadow had a class together. Link found this out when Shadow whispered a dirty joke into his ear about the teacher. Despite himself, Link had chuckled. Out loud.

The teacher glared. Link didn't care, which surprised even him.

However, Link got excited the closer it got to the weekend. The weekend meant he could finally spend a whole day with Aryll.

He woke up Saturday full of purpose and a huge grin on his face. He had made sure to wear his fuzzy, full-body pajamas. They were Aryll's favorite, and she wouldn't sit near him or let him hug her or anything if he wore anything else. He even had to wear mittens! She just didn't like the feeling of skin. Why the fuzzy stuff worked, he had no clue, and didn't care at the moment. He got into his bunny slippers (a Christmas present from Aryll), and trudged downstairs happily.

Aryll was at the kitchen counter, being very focused about eating her cereal. A spoonful in her mouth, seven chomps, swallow. Just like every other morning. Aryll had no concept of time, so she had no idea that it was Saturday or that Link would not be going to school today. She hadn't noticed Link yet, so he stood in the doorway and waited.

She stuck another spoonful of Triforce Puffs in her mouth and chomped. One . . . two . . . three . . . four . . . her eyes rose slightly and took in the red-fuzzy pajamas. FIVE SIX SEVEN SWALLOW! She gasped and leaped off her stool excitedly. "LINK! LINK! LINK!" She ran over and collided with him.

He laughed in response. "Aryll! Aryll! Aryll!"

They ate breakfast together, Aryll making lots of noises as if telling him about her week, and her thoughts, and Link nodded and showed he at least _wanted_ to understand, which was really important to Aryll. Then they cuddled up on the couch and watched cartoons, then played video games, and whenever Link thought she wasn't looking, he might glance at her face to see her grin, because she never looked at him. Even once. She hated looking at people, kind of like touching people. It was too much sensation for her brain. After they beat Super Hylia Sisters for the umpteenth time in their history, using the special clam shell secret, They just sat on the couch and goofed off. Link made Aryll laugh until she fell over by wiggling his toes. To him, they were toes, but to her, they were the most hilarious things in the universe.

After noon came and went, Aryll clambered back into his lap and snuggled against his chest. Link knew it wasn't really him, but the pajamas she was snuggling against . . . but then Aryll started lightly headbutting his chest and saying, "Bump bump. Bump bump!" Link realized she was replicating his heartbeat, and his soul soared. She WAS trying to connect! "That's my heart," Link explained.

Aryll stilled and considered. "Hhhhhheart?"

"Yeah."

Aryll put a hand on her own heart. Then she took in a huge breath and jumped off of Link and began running around the room. "BUMP BUMP! BUMP BUMP! BUMP BUMP BUMP BUMP BUMP BUMP!" Then she leaped back onto his lap.

"OOF!"

She stuck her ear against his chest again. Then she smiled. Link wrapped his fuzzy sleeves around her, smiling, too.

Days with Aryll were never perfect. After all, she was autistic, and especially with the move and their parents' death, and getting a caretaker, she had been extremely temperamental. She blew up three times that Saturday, though, which was less than other Saturdays earlier in the summer. Maybe she was finally getting used to Mom and Dad not being there? Or else this Romani caretaker was amazing . . .

Link and Aryll were lying outside on the grass in the sun. His pajamas made him hot, which made him sleepy . . .

He woke with a start, and sat up, looking around. "Aryll?" She wasn't in the back yard, so he went inside. "ARYLL?!" he called, then felt bad, because Granny might be sleeping . . .

Aryll didn't answer, not that she would have, but the house was quiet. No sounds of exciteable feet or urgent mutterings anywhere. He went back outside and scoped the entire yard. "Aryll?!"

Nothing was out of place until he reached the side of the house. The gate to the front yard was wide open. Link's heart leapt to his throat. "ARYLL?!" He ran to the front yard and looked up and down the street.

"No, no, no, I closed it! I locked it! I KNOW I did!" He ran back to the gate and examined the lock. Tiny little bobby pins stuck out of it. Link's mouth dropped open. Had Aryll _picked the lock?!_ Running back to the street, he began yelling, "ARYLL?! ARYLL?!" A few neighbors came outside.

He ran inside. "GRANDMA! GRANDMA WHERE ARE YOU?! IT'S ARYLL, SHE'S GONE!" They had locks on all the doors and windows. Because Aryll couldn't communicate, couldn't read well, couldn't repeat their number, address, or even her full name, and found loud noises and open places and most people to be frightening, her getting curious and wandering off was pretty much Link's worst nightmare. The locks were there for a reason.

He heard feet pattering upstairs, and he bounced on the balls of his feet with anxiety.

"Link, what's the matter?"

"It's Aryll, she—I fell asleep and she got out somehow!"

Worry flashed across her face. She pulled a cell phone from her pocket and began rushing down the stairs. "Take this, call EVERYONE in the contacts! Romani first. I'll take the car and drive around."

"Should I run and look for her?"

"No, you stay in case she comes back."

"Yes, Grandma." Link dialed Romani as Granny grabbed the keys and left. Link ran a restless hand through his hair, grimacing. "Pick up, pick up, pick up . . ."


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Soundtrack suggestion: Song To a Seagull by Joni Mitchell.**

 **I'm thinking I will start updating once a week, on Saturdays. Just so ya'll know!**

 **Guest Reviewer: Can't reply through PM, so will do it here. THANK YOU SO MUCH! It's so wonderful to know that my story connects with someone on such a personal level! I hope my story continues to connect with you!**

 **Thank you everyone for the reviews, favorites, follows, and for just reading! I love getting feedback and hearing how the story affects you. You people are awesome!**

* * *

Chapter 3: In Which We Find Out Who Shadow's Dad Is.

Aryll was lost. She knew she was lost, but she didn't know what to do about it. Everything was unfamiliar. She was in some sort of park? She edged closer to the tree. In its branches was the seagull that got her into this mess. She'd followed it all the way from home, even picked the gate lock so she COULD follow it!

Nobody knew she could pick locks. She'd kept it a secret before today, but when she saw the seagull she just HAD to follow it! It was the first seagull she'd seen for a long long time. And . . . she had thought, if she followed it, that it would take her to where they used to live, and Mom and Dad would be there waiting for her.

She didn't understand. Why had they stopped coming to see her? Why didn't they live in their house anymore?

She sniffled. The seagull hadn't led her home, it just flew far far away and now sat in a stupid tree. Aryll edged even closer to the tree, calculating the branch height and weight to see if she could climb it.

Moaning uncertainly, she turned and looked around. There were benches, and grass, and trees, and buildings across the street . . . all their colors kind of blended together. She wasn't sure where she'd come from. Picking locks was easier. You didn't have to SEE anything, you could just feel and hear it!

Everything looked the same.

She sniffled again, then opened her mouth. "LIIIIIIIIIIIIINK!" After a few yells, some strange people came up to her. _No no no! I want Link, not you!_ Aryll ran away, eventually she found a bush to hide in. Strangely, as she sat, she soon heard a seagull cry. The seagull had apparently gotten used to her following it, and had followed _her_. It landed next to the bush and tilted its head at her, blinking.

Aryll held out her arms from behind the bush, sniffling extra loud. The bird walked forward and Aryll began petting it carefully. "Good bird."

More wing flapping filled her ears, but it didn't sound like a seagull. Her new seagull friend suddenly cuddled right up to her, as if in fear. Aryll put her arms around it like Link did around her and looked around.

There was a bat. A black bat with glowing red eyes. It had landed on the bush. Then there was another.

And another.

And _another!_

They were covering the bush, and Aryll and the seagull made themselves as tiny as possible.

"Mrah!" said Seagull. Aryll nodded in agreement. She didn't exactly feel threatened by them, but the way they just stared at her was really unnerving.

Aryll had decided maybe she and Seagull had better run! Then she heard footsteps that sounded oddly familiar. "Link!" she called.

But two unfamiliar shoes appeared next to the hole in the bush where she hid, and a big boy crouched down. He was wearing black jeans and a grey T-shirt with some weird-looking ghost on the front. He had really long black hair in a ponytail. Aryll didn't look at his face, so she didn't know what he looked like. He even had a skateboard, which he had set next to him. But it wasn't Link's skateboard. "Not Link," she corrected.

"Hey there!" the boy said, Aryll saw him grin out of the corner of her eye. "Is your name Aryll?"

Aryll's face lit up. "Aryll! Aryll Aryll! Very good, Aryll!"

The boy laughed. He sounded different from Link but also kind of the same. Okay, she HAD to look. She forced herself to look at the boy's face, petting Seagull very methodically to comfort herself. The boy was really really pale, and had red eyes, but he DID look like Link, kinda . . . She leaned forward. He smelled the same. He laughed the same way. But he WASN'T Link.

"My name's Shadow," he said, and Aryll watched his mouth move.

She tried to repeat the word, but wasn't able to. "Link," she said instead. She realized she'd been staring at his face a loooong time . . . and it wasn't bothering her. She stared at his eyes, at how the red irises were shot through with bright sparks, like lines of neon lights.

Shadow grinned again. He had a very big mouth, and his teeth were sharp like a doggie. Aryll giggled a little at that.

"Let's go find Link, okay? He's been really worried about you."

"Link. Worry bout you," she repeated.

Shadow held out a hand to her. Aryll shrank from it, and Shadow frowned. "What's wrong?"

Aryll decided to take a chance. She put forth her hand, and it shook and wiggled as she contemplated what she was about to do . . . and then put it in Shadow's. It didn't hurt.

It felt . . . _good_. A grin broke out across her face. _I'm normal! Am I normal now?!_ Hugging Seagull to herself, she crawled out from under the bush. She glanced back at the black bats.

Shadow waved a hand at them. "Okay, okay! Fly off! Go! Shoo! Be free!"

They obeyed, flying into the sky until they were tiny specks. _He can talk to animals_. Aryll stared up at him in amazement. She was still holding his hand. She was afraid to let go. What if it started hurting again?

They began walking out of the park, Shadow hefting his skateboard over his shoulder. Aryll couldn't stop looking at him. He talked to her, and she understood some of it, but most of it she stopped being able to understand. Words were hard when she was tired. She had to focus on them, but his voice was nice anyway. Seagull squiggled out of her other arm and began flying along behind them.

The lights and the buildings and the people were still really confusing, so Aryll just stared at Shadow, giggling at his doggie teeth and memorizing his eyes. Did Link have a face as interesting as Shadow's? Did ALL people look like that? Occasionally Seagull had something to say, as well. Aryll pretended they were talking about her.

* * *

Link sat on the outside porch. He was still wearing his pajamas. He was miserable. Granny's cell phone sat in his sweaty hand, and he kept waiting for it to ring. Waiting. Waiting . . .

 _Bbrrrrrr!_ Link fumbled with the cell phone.

 _Shadow: Dude, got Aryll. Hdn bak n0w._

A huge rush of relief flowed through Link. He began texting everyone, telling them the news. A few minutes later, a voice called,

"Link!"

He looked up, and suddenly shot off the porch running. "ARYLL!"

Shadow and Aryll were walking up the street. Or rather, Shadow was holding Aryll's hand and pulling her while she rode on his skateboard. Shock stopped Link in his tracks. He was holding her hand. She was holding HIS hand! A burning jealousy filled Link, but it made him feel bad and he tried to ignore it. He should be glad she was holding anybody's hand, right? But she was really holding somebody's hand! For longer than a few seconds! Aryll smiled in his direction with her eyes closed, waving. Link bit back the hurt and called, "Aryll, are you okay?!"

When he got near, she let go of Shadow's hand and ran over excitedly and grabbed _Link's_ hand instead. And cringed and let go. A look of confusion crossed her face. She ran back to Shadow and grabbed his hand. Just fine. Then she ran back to Link and grabbed HIS hand.

Cringed! She stomped her foot in frustration.

"It's okay, Aryll," Link said gently, trying extremely hard to keep his own disappointment out of his voice. He was honestly touched, though. Aryll had never held his hand before. "You tried . . ."

"Huh?" Shadow said. Link had said something about Aryll being 'artistic' on the phone, like he was talking in an English accent or something, it sounded like "Awtistic." Something like that. _I don't get it_ , he thought. Aryll just seemed like any other kid . . . didn't she? Okay, maybe she didn't talk much, but why was that so different? And now it was like Aryll didn't like touching people. Or touching Link, anyway. He scratched his head. _I am so confused right now_.

Aryll sighed and collided with Link's pajamas. "Link. Seagull."

"She followed a seagull to Kokiri Park," Shadow explained.

"Really? She must have seen it and that's why she picked the gate lock," Link answered.

Aryll heard the word 'lock' and her face lit up. She began running around Link, making speech noises. Link couldn't help but grin. "I'm really glad you found her, Shadow."

Shadow shrugged. "She's lucky to have you for a big brother." He glanced over Link's pajamas and failed to conceal a smirk.

"Oh shut up," Link responded preemptively, folding him arms good-naturedly. Shadow chuckled, and said nothing.

Zelda came around the corner onto their street. "Link! I got the news! Aryll's really okay?"

"Yep! Shadow found her at the park."

She skidded to a halt next to them. "That's awesome, Shadow! How'd you find her?"

Shadow scratched the back of his neck. "Oh . . . you know. Luck. Was just skateboarding around town looking when I found her. Could've been anybody, really."

Link gave him a back slap. "Well, I owe you, man. BIG time!"

"Oh, _naaaaaaaw_." They all gathered to watch Aryll happily run around the neighbors' yards, talking likely about her adventure.

A vehicle drove onto their street and parked across from where they were. It was a black and rusty red gas-guzzling monstrosity, somewhere between a police cruiser and a sports car.

Yeah. THAT was a weird combination.

The gold tire rims had spikes, and there was a large, rearing black horse for a hood piece.

It was _obnoxious_.

A man stepped out of the driver's side door, which was one of those kind that opened UP instead of sideways like normal people cars. The man was extremely tall, like, _towering_ , and wore a sharp-looking business suit, the jacket of which he buttoned back up as he stared at them. His face was owned by a sharp, hooked nose, and he had extremely dark, golden tan skin. His eyebrows were extremely thick and hung over his eyes, which were covered by sunglasses. His hair was a bright red. It was receding at the hairline, especially the temples, but otherwise was extremely impressive.

"Who is _that?_ " Link asked.

Zelda grimaced. "Ganondorf Dragmire. He's a corporate big shot. I met him at a dinner party once. Gave me the creeps."

"What is he _doing_ here?"

Unbeknownst the the two of them, Shadow had slowly sidled behind Link.

Ganondorf was walking straight toward them.

"Why is he walking this way?!" Zelda hissed in alarm, leaning over to Link. Link responded, "I don't know, what do we do?!"

They contemplated running. Just something about the grumpy-looking, obnoxious-car-owning, towering man made them want to be as _far away_ from him as possible. He wasn't just tall. He was MASSIVE!

Ganondorf pulled his sunglasses off his face, revealing bright yellow irises. Then he opened his mouth, and a deep, commanding voice spoke a word neither Link nor Zelda expected. "SHADOW!"

They turned around to look at Shadow, who had folded his arms, nonchalantly looking up at the sky as though he hadn't heard anything.

"YOU ARE IN SUCH HUGE TROUBLE, YOUNG MAN!" Ganondorf continued to yell.

Across the way, Aryll covered her ears in distaste. "Ew. Loud bad man!"

Shadow merely shrugged. Link and Zelda decided stepping out of the way would be a good idea. They looked back and forth between Shadow and Ganondorf, completely confused.

"LOOK at me when I am speaking to you!" Ganondorf yelled.

Shadow made a show of rolling his eyes before obeying and asking in a mock-innocent voice, "Yes, Dad?"

 _Dad?!_ Zelda and Link gaped at each other. Shadow's dad was Mr. Dragmire?! WHAT?!

Ganondorf loomed over Shadow, wagging a finger in his face. "What have I TOLD you about sneaking into my lab and freeing the animals?"

Shadow stuck out his tongue. "They didn't want to be tested on anymore!"

Ganondorf growled. "You wasted weeks of research! You are GROUNDED, young man!"

"Young man this, young man that!"

"Now march yourself to my car IMMEDIATELY."

"Ugh . . ."

"Shadow. NOW."

Shadow made a face at Mr. Dragmire. "Yes, _sir_."

Ganondorf watched to make sure he did so, then replaced his sunglasses and looked to see who the spectators of this event were. He noticed Zelda right away, a bit taken aback. "Zelda! . . . How is your father?"

"Fine, thanks," Zelda replied warily.

Then Ganondorf saw Link. He looked the boy up, then down. And said nothing. "Hmph." He began walking back to his car.

Link ran after him. "Uh, Mr. Dragmire . . . sir!"

Ganondorf stopped. Link tried not to feel intimidated. "You see . . . I don't know what Shadow did or anything, but he was helping me find my sister. She's autistic, you see, and we might not have found her without Shadow, so . . . maybe . . . I mean . . . maybe go easy on him?"

Ganondorf's expression didn't change. Link gulped. Then Ganondorf said, "Your name is Link, right? Link Knight."

Link nodded nervously.

Ganondorf straightened and adjusted his sunglasses. "Shadow's told me about you." He was silent for a moment, then said firmly, "Stay away from my boy. Got it?"

Mouth dropping open in confusion, Link could only watch as Ganondorf returned to his car, started it up, and drove off.

"What a _jerk!_ " Zelda scoffed, coming to stand next to Link and folding her arms.

 _What's he got against me?_ Link wondered. "Oh well. I hope Shadow's okay."

"Yeah, me too."

". . . Let's get Aryll and go inside."

* * *

Ganondorf looked in the rear view mirror. Shadow was lying on the back seat, face hidden behind some magazine he'd stashed in here somewhere. It wasn't clear if he was wearing a seat belt. Ganondorf thought about snapping at him, but knew he would be ignored. He just hoped his son wasn't that much of an _idiot_.

"The tracking keese," he began, glancing periodically in the mirror to see Shadow's reactions. "You used them to track that girl, didn't you?"

Shadow's hands gripped the magazine harder.

"How did they work?" Ganondorf continued. "Were they efficient? . . . Well? Aren't you going to tell me?"

A moment of silence, and a quiet, harsh voice replied, "I'd rather be grounded."

Ganondorf sighed. "Suit yourself."

* * *

Aryll was very happy to be home. She said hello to every single one of her seagull drawings and stuffed animals, to the cupboards and the dishes, and the fridge, and the ant infestation in the pantry . . .etc. etc.

"Don't forget the drapes!" Link called helpfully. He and Zelda were in the kitchen, sipping on fruity beverages.

Granny had come home a few minutes after Ganondorf left, and now she sat in the living room rocking chair, knitting a sweater with a smile on her face.

"So . . . Shadow Dragmire, huh?" Link said, broaching the topic bravely.

"I guess so. But don't they call him Mr. Waldorf at school?"

"Maybe that's his code name or something, like how your dad signs himself as 'Mr. Red Lion' at hotels to hide from the press?"

"Maybe."

"So what do you know about Ganondorf?" Link asked.

Zelda set her drink down. "Well, he's notorious for not caring one whit about the environment. Normally I'd be wary of anybody claiming someone's anti-green because my family gets falsely accused of that ALL the time . . . but Ganondorf seriously deserves it. You saw the car he owns, but that's just a dust speck on the surface. His factories spew out more pollution than most other companies combined, but he gets away with it because he's good at finding loopholes in the law and functioning in lower industrial countries that have no pollution laws. He pays his employees dirt, especially in developing countries. They can either work for him or starve. His products are all tested on animals, in the _cruelest_ of ways, he's destroyed countless rain forests and wildlife without thought or reason, bankrupted animal sanctuaries, and I hear he's a really tough boss, and generally . . . he's just a jerk. I hear he's even responsible for the extinction of the Korok tribe on the Haven Islands, though there's no actual proof of that."

Link shook his head, rethinking his opinion of Shadow, the vegan rebel. "No wonder Shadow's so animal crazy."

Zelda nodded. "Do you think he'll still hang out with us?" she asked quietly.

Link scoffed. "Knowing him? He'll probably sneak out of his house in the middle of the night to throw stones at my window."

Zelda giggled, then mentioned, "Wait. Didn't he say he lived around here?"

Eyebrows crossing, Link nodded. "I wonder if he was lying?"

"Or maybe Ganondorf just has a really small house?"

They tried to imagine it. Then both burst into snorts and giggles.

* * *

Shadow frowned morosely as they turned onto their street. At first all you saw was a long stretch of trees on one side of the street. In the middle of this line appeared, as if from nowhere, a tiny road, guarded by a black gate. Ganondorf swerved into it and pushed some buttons on his dashboard. The gate opened, and he drove through.

At first it was just trees, trees, and more trees, getting taller and taller, but then suddenly there was the house.

House. Shadow snickered. It was a mansion, hidden behind and under all these trees. Ganondorf had spent a fortune to build his house here without disturbing the trees. He hated prying eyes and attention, and so had built a little hidden house in the middle of urbania, privatizing a park in the process (yes, they lived in the remains of a park). Shadow didn't mind so much. He liked having a forest outside his bedroom, but the building itself was gross, powered by unclean energy, hogging internet bandwidth, looking big and dark and gloomy and dangerous. The windows were black, covered in stuff you couldn't see into. On the side of the house was an ugly, fenced in area that held all the equipment used to give them their ridiculous amount of power and . . . Shadow shook his head at the waste of resources. It took enough power to light the school for a day just to keep the porch light going ALL. DAY. LONG. Never mind his dad's countless laboratories . . .

The mansion appeared to be only three stories, but much of the mansion was underground, three or four floors of it, Shadow wasn't entirely sure, and the floors expanded in size the further underground they were. Ganondorf conducted most of his research for his products in his own house, and that all took place in the basement. In that dark, windowless prison were all the animals his father tested on, and wouldn't let him see. Shadow wasn't allowed anywhere NEAR the lower levels of the mansion, but occasionally he snuck into the nearest levels. He'd never made it past level two before getting caught.

Shadow wasn't sure what kind of experiments his father was conducting, or why, but he had seen shadows of tortured animals, seen their carcasses hidden in corners, seen their blood and guts on his father's work clothes, and come on, genetically modified keese?

It made him sick, just thinking about it.

Ganondorf parked inside a garage, and Shadow sped out of the car lightning fast.

"Hold up!" Ganondorf called, grabbing the back of his shirt. Shadow stopped, mad he hadn't gotten away fast enough.

"I just thought you ought to know," Ganondorf continued, "in case you _ever_ get this stupid idea in your head again. Every one of those bats has a remote tracking device. You know I can't let my research fall into the hands of competitors."

Shadow began to feel very, _very_ sick. He heard a few beeping sounds, and Ganondorf showed him his cell phone. On it were several small, red dots. If Shadow was reading the map right, the keese had almost gotten to Kakariko . . .

He watched Ganondorf flick his thumb across the screen until a large red button with the word, TERMINATE, appeared on the screen. Shadow paled.

"Wha-what, Dad, _don't!_ " He wasn't sure what was worse, the finality of the sound of Ganondorf's thumb smacking the button, or how all the little red dots began to disappear, one by one. He felt bile rise in his throat.

"They've all been disintegrated from the inside out," Ganondorf explained matter-of-factly.

Shadow scrunched his face up, shaking like a leaf. He wouldn't let Ganondorf see him cry. He shoved the phone away and stormed into the house, stumbling over things as he blindly ran to his room, tears flowing down his face.


	4. Chapter 4

**Suggested soundtrack: Bon Jovi, Dead or Alive (of course)**

 **AN: Okay, so I couldn't leave that sad ending from last chapter until Saturday! There will still be an update on Saturday, though.**

* * *

Chapter 4:

Turns out, Shadow DIDN'T wake Link up with stones against his window, but not because he didn't try. He was locked in his bedroom, window made of bulletproof glass. His dad had turned off the wi-fi in his room and the electricity, so all Shadow could really do was sit in the dark on his bed and blubber like an idiot . . .

 _It's not fair_ , he thought, mentally speaking to his dad, Mr. Dragmire. He rolled onto his stomach. _What did they ever do to you?_

He pulled his phone from his pocket and scrolled through his messages. He didn't dare reply, or his dad would notice he'd forgotten to ban phone service, but the messages made him feel better all the same. He hated making his friends worry, though.

 _Saturday_

 _6:03 P.M. Link: Hey Shadow you OK?_

 _6:34 Link: Shaaaadoooooow_

 _7:01 Zelda: BROOOOOOOOOO_

 _7:56 Link: :(_

 _7:57 Zelda: I WIL B HERE 4 U WHEN U ESCAPE HELL OK BRO?!_

 _9:00 Link: Helloooooooo_

 _10:13 Zelda: BROOOOOOOOOOO_

 _12:00 Link: Well, goodnight I guess. See you on Monday!_

 _2:00 Zelda: SRSLY SHADOW smh TEXT ME BAAAAAAAAACK!_

 _2:02 Zelda: BROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! #$%_

Shadow smiled. Zelda sure was neat. Link, too.

* * *

A random beep woke Sheik up on Monday morning. Not a consistent set of them. Blurry minded, he considered this for two whole minutes before deciding that unequivocally it was NOT his alarm, and he had every right to ignore it. Probably a prank text. Or a telemarketer. Or spam. Or-

He bounced straight up and grabbed his phone.

 _6:03 a.m. Shadow: M OK thx 4 th msgs_

Sheik's fingers flew over the keypad, sucking breath through his teeth as he bit his lower lip.

 _6:14 le me: AFDKFJASL! #$% &YWAK! R U comin 2 Skl?_

 _6:57 le me: AAAAAAAAAAAUGH!_

* * *

Shadow had gotten one message out before his dad shut off his phone service. What, had the animal killer been up all night? Shadow stuck his tongue out. "Serves you right!" He threw the useless mobile device at his door. "I HATE YOU!"

A booming voice replied. **"GET READY FOR SCHOOL!"**

* * *

Link and Zelda practically pounced on Shadow at lunch. "I THOUGHT YOU DIED!" Zelda shouted. "I THOUGHT HE'D TAKEN YOU TO DO EXPERIMENTS ON YOU!"

It was obvious Link hadn't thought of that, but NOW he did, and he slammed his fists onto the lunch table while screaming with wide, horrified eyes, "YEAH!"

Shadow blushed sheepishly at their horrified expressions. "Sorry, my dad turned my phone and internet off . . ."

"Oh ouch."

"I was locked in my room all weekend. Didn't let me out AT ALL." He stuck his tongue out.

Link gaped. "Not even to use the bathroom?"

Shadow snorted at the look on Link's face. "I have my own bathroom connected to my room." He brightened. "Story time! So I get grounded a lot, and Dad got sick of having to let me out to use the bathroom, so he built one next to my room!"

Zelda laughed incredulously. "Seriously?! He's treating you like a prisoner."

"Are you still grounded?" Link asked.

Shadow grimaced and nodded. "Dad dropped me off and is picking me up right after school. With my luck he'll be doing it for weeks."

"Aaaw." Link was disappointed. "Hey, Grandma wanted to send cookies over. Y'know, to say thank you for helping Aryll. Your dad hates me, but maybe Zelda could bring them over?"

"Wait, my dad hates you?"

"Yeah, he kinda told me to stay away from you."

"Jerk face. Now I'll be your friend even if you turn into a giant tree-eating robot chihuahua."

Link laughed, but didn't miss the fact that Shadow had avoided telling them his address, AND avoided the topic of cookies. "She has a great vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe," he said. "No butter, no milk, no eggs . . . just peanut butter and chocolaty goodness!"

THERE were the eyes. The 'I want cookies' eyes. Link grinned evilly. "Come to the dark side, Shadow!"

* * *

Ganondorf was true to his word. For the next week Shadow popped up just as school started and was made to leave just after. The three decided to split before Shadow reached the doors so Ganondorf wouldn't know they were still hanging out. Otherwise he might lock Shadow up forever. So far so good.

Link was searching the internet Wednesday night, on the living room computer. His searches included, "My friend is a vegan and I think he's going to die a horrible diseased or underfed death," "why is my vegan friend pale?" and "is veganism even humanly possible?"

He sighed as he glanced over all the results, visiting dozens of websites. Rubbing his eyes, he leaned back in his seat.

Aryll was playing color games with her new caretaker, Romani, who had stayed later because Granny had Tingle Bingo Night and Link had homework. He met Romani on Sunday when she stopped by for a couple of hours. Romani was in her twenties, he guessed? She had milky skin and long, red hair, and really kind blue eyes. She also had an amazing figure. Link blushed and returned his attention to his computer screen.

"How's the homework going?" Romani called.

"Um, fine," Link responded, hiding behind a hand and quickly closing out of all the web pages he'd been looking at.

"Are you studying veganism for a health class?" Romani asked. "You know, there's a great Natural Foods store on Main Street. They've got a huge selection of vegan foodstuffs."

Link's ears pricked. "Really?"

"Yeah. You should check it out!"

The walk to Main Street was not very long, and there was still lots of daylight left . . . Link got up. "Thanks, Miss Romani. I'll do that."

* * *

Zelda let Shadow do all the talking. It was Thursday, and he was still grounded, and she could tell he REALLY hadn't had anyone to talk to much, but apparently Shadow had earned his internet back today, so maybe that would change and they could chat online or something.

Shadow sure could talk A LOT. Not even food in his mouth could stop the tirade.

"BLAH! And then I was like, maybe if I put tomatoes into flour and roasted them, or slathered peanut butter on them, or something. I know, gross! But in my house you get desperate for variety. SHEESH! Dad doesn't even stock up on apples or oranges. OR BANANAS! How can you NOT buy bananas?! They're so cheap! AAAUGH! I don't think he's gone grocery shopping ALL WEEK. This morning he tried to feed me cereal WITH MILK. Yuck! Tried to convince me it was coconut milk. Like, NOOOOO Dad, that has a distinctly DIFFERENT flavor! And there was NO way he'd buy coconut milk!"

Link walked up to them and sat down. "Hey you two!"

"Sup!" Shadow said around a mouthful of lettuce.

"Hey," said Zelda. "Shadow was telling me all his diet woes."

"Oh!" Link unzipped his backpack and pulled out a bag of snacks. "Speaking of diet, I picked these up for you. Thought you might need them, since, ya know, you're locked up and such."

Shadow eyed the bag cautiously. On the front was printed, "Rabbitland Bread Snacks!"

"I got it from the vegan store," Link explained.

Shadow took the bag and inspected every inch of it. Made of recycled material, check. No GMOs or antibiotics, check. No animal products . . . check. No animal testing? . . . check. They were little bread pretzels fortified with extra vitamin B12.

"I was reading up on veganism," Link continued, "and I guess it's really hard to get vitamin B12 if you're a vegan, and not getting it can make you really sick, and pale," he added pointedly. "And I know how much you hate supplements, so . . ."

Shadow slowly opened the bag, which made a pop! Then put one hand in and pulled one pretzel out. He looked it over, then sniffed it, and finally took a small bite. He chewed thoughtfully before saying, "Not bad."

Link grinned. "So do you think we've waited long enough to bring cookies by?"

Shadow stuffed another pretzel in his mouth. "Nah. I'd waif uftil fadurday."

"No, Saturday is Aryll's day. How about Sunday?"

"Okay. What does your sister have again?"

"Autism."

"Oooh . . . what is that?"

* * *

Ganondorf flipped the over easy eggs expertly from the pan to the plate. Then he took the plate and set it next to the pancakes. He poured orange juice and secretly put in some vitamin powder, hoping Shadow would at least be fooled enough to drink it. _I mean, orange juice! That's his thing, right? So what if there's some extra stuff put in it that he might find disagreeable. It's for his own good!_

Preparing himself with a deep, full breath, letting it out slowly, Ganondorf picked up the tray full of breakfast and made his way to his son's bedroom. He knocked on the door, and when no one answered, he opened it and went inside.

Shadow's room was a mess. Of course. He was sprawled all over his bed . . . covers, snoring lightly. "Wake up!" Ganondorf said, as . . . nicely as he could manage. Shadow started and wiped his eyes. "Time to eat." Ganondorf set the tray on the end of the bed.

At first Shadow was disoriented and just stared bleary-eyed at Ganondorf, then at the food tray. He let out an almighty shriek that rose to a pitch probably only dogs could hear, leaped away from the tray while pointing at it, shouting, "MURDER! MURDER!"

 _Same thing EVERY time!_ Ganondorf groaned. "EGGS AREN'T MURDER! No animals even DIED to bring you these eggs!"

"But they're probably sitting in some poor cage, forced to eat their own feces!"

Ganondorf held in his cry of rage. "Would it help if I said they were cage free?!"

Shadow blew out of his nose derisively, then fell half off the side of his bed to reach under its voluminous depths. "No." He pulled up a bag of snacks and started eating them instead. Ganondorf was about to burn a fuse. _They're probably dehydrated bananas or something!_

 _Can the boy even SEE how sickly he looks, or how much skinnier he's gotten?!_ His thought process paused. Shadow had stuffed, what, four . . . no, five of those things in his mouth. _Wow, he's really digging in. Well, okay . . . at least he's EATING._ Ganondorf hadn't actually SEEN him eat in . . . in . . . he had called the school, not to check on his grades or behavior, just to see what and if the kid was eating.

A dark, ominous organ chord blared, followed by a resolving chord. _Who in the blazes is ringing my doorbell on a weekend?!_

"Oh!" Shadow cried with sudden enthusiasm. "That could be Zelda." He threw his snack bag away, hopped off the bed, and ran out of the room before Ganondorf could even comprehend what he'd said.

". . . Zelda?" But he was already too curious about the snacks his son couldn't stop stuffing his face with. He decided to walk over and examine the snack bag. _What kind of disastrous food thing has he gotten now?_

The first thing he noticed when he picked it up was the note stuck to the front of it:

 _"For all your B vitamin needs :P –Link"_

A twinge of discomfort—guilt?—entered Ganondorf's heart. Of course. Bread snacks. _Why hadn't I thought of that?_ He gave a long-suffering sigh. _It's not like I have a lot of time to figure out all this stupid vegan crap!_ But still . . . how interesting that not his father, but a brand new friend could get Shadow to eat what was best for him. Ganondorf dropped the bag of snacks and lumbered out of the room.

Out in the entry way, Shadow was speaking animatedly to whoever was at the door. Ganondorf knew it wasn't Zelda even before he saw the green hoodie.

 _Link._

"Did you get the snacks in your locker?" Link was asking.

"Yeah! I think I've almost eaten them all, can you get me more?"

Link grinned. "Sure thing!" His expression fell and he paled. "Oh, uh, h-hello Mr. Dragmire! Sir!"

Shadow glanced at his dad, and hesitantly moved aside. Ganondorf filled the doorway. Literally filled it. Link looked very small, eyes big and wide. He held a small paper plate of cookies in both hands, and proffered them up at Ganondorf, who was a good two heads or more taller than him. "Uh, my Grandma made cookies. For Shadow. Because he found Aryll. Last Saturday. Um. Sorry they're kind of . . . you know, not fancy or anything." He apparently couldn't help looking at the expensive, huge house he'd found.

For a moment Ganondorf considered shutting the door in his face. _Hadn't I said to stay away?!_ The last thing he needed was Shadow becoming friends with beggars. Well okay, Link wasn't THAT much of a beggar, but pretty close, and with poordom came _really bad decisions._ And Shadow was NOT the most street smart egg in the carton. _Nothing good can come from these two spending time together_. Ganondorf warred with himself. _But, Link did get Shadow to eat._ His shoulders relaxed and he released some pent up air. Then, to Link and Shadow's surprise, he stepped aside and said, "Come in."

Shadow was ecstatic. Link had no sooner crossed the threshold than Shadow grabbed his hand and pulled him behind him to his room, almost making Link drop the cookies on the way. Shadow chided him, as if it HADN'T been his own fault they almost fell. "Careful, those are gold!" They disappeared into his room and he shut the door.

Ganondorf watched them go, a bit sadly. Then threw the front door shut in frustration.

* * *

Link got the feeling that Shadow never actually made his bed. He wasn't even sure there WAS a bed underneath all the pillows, plushies, tiny blankets and pillowcases, and clothes. They all sat in a big messy pile at one end of the room. A desk with a laptop sat in a corner, and there were two doors besides the one they came in. One Link guessed was a closet from what little he could see inside, which meant the other door must be to the Grounded Bathroom. Shadow's skull skateboard was lying against the wall on the other side of the room from the desk, and there was an electric guitar hanging out on a stand next to an amp.

Shadow was currently sat on his bed after cautiously throwing a tray full of food down what looked like a laundry chute. He munched on Granny's cookies. Link sat down next to him on what looked like a mini bean bag on top of a mound of clothing and grabbed a cookie for himself. "So this is your house."

"I know," Shadow replied. "Isn't it evil?"

"It is a bit intimidating."

"You'll like the yard, though. Tons of awesome trees! There's even a few you can climb. Can't tell secrets to them, though. Pretty sure Dad has microphones everywhere."

"That's disturbing . . ." Link's eyes had not really quit staring at the electric guitar since he'd spotted it. "So, you play?"

"Yeah! You?"

"A little bit. I can't afford a guitar, though."

"You wanna give it a go?"

Link stood up and walked to it wondrously, not even remembering to be grateful in his haste. "Sure . . ."

* * *

"Sheik. Hasn't he told you about me?"

Ganondorf stared at the young man at the door quizzically. "No," he stated simply.

"Oh! That's odd. Well. Is that his room? Has Link already got here?" He walked past the stunned Ganondorf and walked to the room the guitar music came out of. Not bothering to knock, he walked inside. "Hi guuuuuuys!"

"Hey!" The other boys answered in sync as Sheik shut the door. Then Link commented. "Wow, I've never seen you dressed like that before, Zelda—"

"SHH! To Mr. Dragmire I'm Sheik! There's no WAY my parents would approve of me being here!"

Shadow nodded conspiratorially. "Riiiight, that's the ONLY reason you're dressed as a guy."

"Oh shut uuuUUUOH MY DEKU NUTS is that a Rauru 500?" Sheik gestured madly at the guitar.

Shadow grinned proudly. "Yep!"

Link played a few riffs. Sheik's eyes practically sparkled when he recognized the song, and opened his mouth to start singing.

 _"It's all the same, only the names will change_

 _Everyday, it seems we're wastin' away_

 _Another place where the faces are so cold_

 _I drive all night just to get back home!"_

Shadow ran to Sheik's side and joined him on the chorus:

 _"I'm a cowboy, on a steel horse I ride_

 _I'm wanted dead or alive_

 _Wanted dead or aliiiiiiiiive!"_

"OH MY GOSH THIS IS AWESOME YOU GUYS!" Sheik cried. "There's a talent show at the school in a few weeks. Do you want to do it?"

Link glanced at Shadow, who simply grinned and shrugged, so Link said, "Yeah, sure! We'll need a bassist, though."

"And a drummer," Shadow answered. "And an extra guitar because there's no way I'm standing on stage and only singing."

Sheik scoffed. "Coward. I know someone who loves the drums. I don't know about a bassist, though."

"We should keep a lookout."

All three looked back and forth at each other, then yelled together, **"I'M WANTED, DEAD OR ALIIIIVE!"**


	5. Chapter 5

**Double update!**

 **AN: I'm uploading TWO chapters today because I won't be uploading one next Saturday. So make sure you don't miss one!**

 **Also, new LoZ characters!**

 **Thank you to Izzyboopers and Moonlight Raven Grave for reviewing the last chapters. It makes me so happy!**

 **Thanks for reading! Let me know if something needs fixing/changing! Dealing with some serious stuff this chapter, so I want to get it right!**

* * *

Chapter 5: Enter le crushes

"Hey, Gerudos!" was her only introduction. She was quite short, with a roundish head, a petite little body and big hips. Orange, luminescent hair was gathered in a huge bun that was basically the size of her head. The color contrasted greatly with her dark brown skin and matched her red eyes. She wore a mint green shirt underneath a black pleather jacket, and a black mini skirt over black stocking. To finish off the look, she had black combat boots with spikes around the ankles. She strode into the music room like she owned the place, or at least one small corner of it. She raised the stool behind the drum set as high as it would go, then sat herself down as if she'd done it a million times before.

Her name was Midna.

Without any cues from anyone, she began drumming a blues beat. After a few bars, Link could already tell she was good.

Shadow was filling in as bass guitarist, even though he clearly wasn't comfortable in the role. Zelda was lead singer, and Link was the main guitarist, also uncomfortable with the role. He did NOT like being front and center for solos . . .

The practice session was pretty much a mess, but that was pretty much expected.

"I told you, we should have just stuck to our spots and pretended we had a bassist," said Zelda, pinning a BASSIST WANTED sign on every bulletin board they passed.

"We've got tons of time, I dunno why you're complainin'," Shadow responded.

"Meh, whatever," Link interrupted, not liking the contention. "Let's go to the skate park."

* * *

"Hey Link," called Saria—the name of the green-haired two-footed scooter master. She came and stood to Link as he put his helmet and elbow pads on. She barely came up to his elbows.

"Sup, Saria!"

Saria rarely made excited expressions. She was too cool for that. Her voice wasn't monotone, but it had that unconcerned quality to it. "You learn any new moves lately?"

"I'm still getting used to the park. You?"

"I got a new scooter." A slight smile graced her pale face. "It's cool."

"Sweet."

Mr. Orange Pants skated by just then, waggling his hands on either side of his masked face while giving a signature, creepy giggle.

"What is up with that guy?" Link asked when he was gone.

"Who, Skull Kid? He's just like that. He doesn't take much notice of people unless they're good."

"Oh, gee, thanks."

She snickered. "Don't worry. You'll get noticed eventually. I have a feeling you're pretty good once you get determined enough."

Link scratched the back of his head. Saria often got into this deep personality trait, and he never was able to follow . . . "I don't see him around school much."

"I don't think he even goes here."

"Huh. Wanna check heights?"

"Sure."

They took turns building up speed and launching themselves up the quarter pipe, letting each other know if they got higher than they had before. Shadow came by a few times to outshine both of them with his ridiculous skills.

"Stop doing that!" Link shouted with irritation.

Shadow grinned. "What?"

"Showing off!"

"Ain't my fault I'm fabulous!"

 _That's it_. Link took off after Shadow, and they played a haphazard game of Copy Dat Move, in which Shadow ran away from Link, doing tricks on every obstacle in his way, and Link followed his movements. First Shadow grinded on a rail and then performed a 360 on the end, and Link followed with the same move except finished with a kick flip. Link copied all Shadow's moves, and even improved on some or did something similar, but he just couldn't catch up to the guy!

He missed the next landing and lost his footing, falling over and landing on his backside. Shadow came and skated circles around him, laughing.

Link scowled. "Shut up."

Shadow held a hand out. Link took it and got back to his feet.

"Ya'll right?"

"Yeah, fine," Link replied.

As Link was brushing himself off, Skull Kid appeared. He said nothing, just stared ominously at Shadow as he skated by, as if issuing a silent challenge. Shadow's mouth broke into a fangy grin. "Hold up, Mr. Hero, got a Skull Kid to cream."

Link smirked, and Shadow skated after Skull Kid. Link decided to take a break and went to sit with Zelda. "How're you doing?" Link asked.

Zelda was looking at him in a way that was wigging him out, seriously. "Oh, I'm good. It's just . . . watching you and Shadow . . . you two are a _lot_ alike."

Link made a sour face. "But I can't keep up with him."

"Ah, you'll get him one day!"

"Sure," Link answered absent-mindedly. "Hey Zelda?"

"Yeah?"

Some sort of embarrassment butterfly crew had taken nest in his stomach. ". . . Never mind."

She shrugged. "Okay."

Link went back to watching Shadow and Skull Kid furiously skate duel. They seemed evenly matched, and both frustratingly stubborn. Their stunts got bigger, higher, better, faster as they taunted each other wordlessly, clothes soaked with sweat as they each tried to outshine the other. Finally, in their desire to be better, they lost sight of one another, and ended up climbing both sides of the same jump—not realizing this until they smashed into each other and bounced back and smashed into the ground, skateboards flying about their pained bodies. Link and Zelda couldn't help but laugh, but they still walked over the make sure the two were okay.

"Yeesh!" Shadow said as he sat up and glared at the Skull Kid, but Link was pretty sure there was some type of adoration in that glare. Skull Kid's reaction couldn't be seen behind his mask, which had stayed in place despite the accident. He got up, gave a thumbs up as a way to make sure Shadow was fine. Shadow waved him off, and Skull Kid skated away. Shadow watched him go with wide-eyed concentration.

"You look like you're in love," Zelda commented.

Shadow snapped out of whatever thoughts he'd been having and glared at her. "As if! Puh!"

* * *

The days passed quickly for the trio of friends, but after a few failed bassist auditions, they started to get antsy.

"If we don't find a bassist soon, I'm going to become an expert bass player, and that is NOT one of my life goals," Shadow was saying at lunch.

"Why not?" Link asked. "I think bassists are cool."

"But I don't like playing bass. Why would I get good at something I don't like?"

Link had to concede to the point. His eyes wandered across the cafeteria.

A boy had appeared late. He always appeared late. If Link didn't know any better he'd think the boy was SUPPOSED to be in the NEXT lunch period . . . but he'd seen this boy around and even had a few classes with him.

He was your run-of-the-mill nerd. At least, that's what you'd _think_ from looking at him. Ridiculously well-combed red hair and round glasses, collared shirt, khaki shorts, hiking boots. Always reading a book. But even though Link had only been here a few weeks, he had already learned that the kid was NOT your regular nerd. He would never forget the day the red head came into lab, covered in ashes and looking like he'd been in an explosion and reported something to the teacher, or when he'd come to lunch with tropical plants stuck in his hair and clothes as if he'd just gotten back from safari, or, especially, when he came to PE in full scuba gear and led a diving class in the school pool.

Apparently the boy, Shad, was employed as a research assistant to various teachers in the school. A nerd who actually went on adventures. Adventures that Link was, truthfully, jealous of.

There was one quirk about the guy that Link just couldn't get, though. Every day Shad wore the same kind of socks. Different colors, different versions . . . but all knee high and all in an argyle pattern.

Today they were dark blue and purple, clashing horrifically with his tan khakis. He had extremely well-defined calves, maybe THAT was why he wore the socks? Maybe to protect his pale legs from the sun? Prevent freckling?

 _Maybe he just likes them._

He watched as Shad moved along the lunch line, which was pretty tiny currently, and got a sandwich. Then he walked to a table a few beyond Link's and sat quite properly and dug into his sandwich.

"Hyrule to Link, come in, Link!"

Link snapped his attention back to his table. Shadow was waving a hand in his face, and Link batted it away. "You could put my eye out with those claws!"

Shadow giggled. "Is that your boyfriend, Link?"

". . . What?"

"Ol' nerd guy over there. You've been staring at him for, like, five minutes!"

Link's face flushed. "I was not!"

Zelda broke in. "When did he come in?"

"About five minutes ago, and then he got food and sat down—crap."

"You've got a cruuuush!" Shadow sang.

"I do not!" Link protested. Seriously, he didn't feel any different about Shad than he did . . . any other human being, did he? _Well, he's got nice legs, I guess, but that's not an attraction or anything. That's just noticing! So what if I like staring at them? Doesn't everybody stare at things they like? Art, nature, I mean so what, he's just got some . . . very well made legs!_

"Then why are you staring at him?"

Link snapped. "I'm just looking, that's all!" He sat back in his seat defensively. "I just find him interesting, that's all!"

Shadow had shrunk away from Link's outburst with an impish expression, but braved leaning closer again. " _Interesting_ , huh? Like how?"

"Well, like . . . he does cool stuff. He's always doing things. Interesting things."

"Bet you'd like to do _interesting things_ with him."

"Yeah, I would," replied Link, too lost in thought to get the innuendo. Shadow held back laughter.

"Hey, ease off, Shadow," Zelda interrupted, punching his arm. "What's with you this week anyway? You've been super irritating."

"You wound me."

"Oh stop it."

"No, seriously, I think you gave me a rash, you should rub it better!"

"I'll dump my nice cold milk over it, would that suffice?"

"Evil mistress . . ."

Zelda choked on her milk. _Mistress?!_ "Oh now I really AM gonna pummel you!" She threw her empty milk carton at his head. He ducked and she missed.

Shadow leaped from his seat and ran off, Zelda close behind. A school attendant blew a whistle at them, telling them to walk. So they power walked out the door instead.

Out in the hall, with no attendants in sight, Zelda jumped on Shadow's back before he could run away. Shadow laughed and they fell down together, wrestling. "What's a matter, princess," he teased, "Can't take a joke?"

"Just let me pound you!"

"Wooooo! Bee in your bonnet? Ghosts in your panties?"

"What the heck! Who cried over Bambi's mom last Sunday? Heck, who made us WATCH Bambi last Sunday?!"

"I'm a sucker for animal movies, Miss Crazy."

"I'm more man than you, Mr. Sensitive."

"EEK! No tickling! NONE! ZIP—AAAH minx, vixen, Chosen Chick, Destiny's Darling!"

"SHUT UP!" Zelda growled.

"Oh come on, baby girl, you LOVE me!"

"JUST—" Zelda suddenly shoved him harshly on the ground and stood up. She turned her back to Shadow, arms folded, shoulders hunched.

"Ow," Shadow muttered. _That actually hurt_. He stood up. "Jeez, Sheik," he said, using her boy alternate name in an attempt to placate her, "I was just teasing. Why's it such a big deal?"

"Just go away. Leave me alone."

"But why?" Shadow approached her and put a hand on her shoulder.

Zelda tried to shrug it off, but miscalculated the casual strength of Shadow's grip and instead ended up spinning herself around to face him. "I SAID—"

Shadow released her immediately and stepped back, a short gasp leaving his lips. "You're crying. I made you cry." His voice was laced with guilt.

Zelda was already hiding her face, but the damage was done.

Shadow stepped a little closer, gesturing with his hands. "I—I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I'm an idiot, I'm so sorry, Zelda—"

"Don't call me that!" Zelda said through a sob.

"Uh—wh—do you—do you prefer being called Sheik?"

She gave a timid nod.

Shadow braved getting closer so he could put his hands on both her shoulders. He was trying to understand why she was upset. "So . . . so . . . Sheik is a guy name, right? And you like being called bro, and guy, and stuff, but you're a girl—"

Zelda dropped her hands and screamed, "I AM NOT A WOMAN!" She covered her mouth abashedly, for yelling at Shadow, who had been startled. "S-sorry."

"I-It's okay. So. You're not a woman. Okay. Does that mean, I mean, you like male stuff . . . Sheik, are you a guy?"

Zelda's chin trembled, her fists clenched tensely, face a blotchy red and white. She swallowed several times, unable it seemed to form words, but then she said, thickly, " _Yes_."

It was as if a whole wall had broken down inside of his friend, and Shadow watched her—no, _him_ crumble into a pile on the floor and cry openly, shaking with release. Kneeling, Shadow put his arms around Sheik and held him. Sheik hugged back.

"Are you gonna tell Link?" Shadow asked.

"I . . . I don't know."

"Well, I'm here for you."

"What if there's something wrong with me? What if I shouldn't feel this way?"

Shadow had never encountered someone like this before, so really didn't have an answer. "Doesn't matter. I don't care. You're you, and I care about you. You're my friend and that's that. We'll work on it together, whatever you choose. Okay?"

Sheik sniffed. "Thanks, Shadow. You and Link are the best friends I've ever had." Sheik couldn't see it, but Shadow blushed furiously at that.

"You deserve the best friends in the world," Shadow replied quietly, holding him tighter.

"Naaaaaah, I've got you, that's SO much better!" She chuckled, making Shadow smile.

"I'm sorry I made you cry. I don't ever want to do that again. I'll . . . I'll stop being so irritating!"

They released each other and helped each other up. "I better not lose my best sarcasm buddy. Link's great and all, but he can be a little dense sometimes." Sheik snickered.

Shadow snickered back. "'Yeah, I'd LOVE to do _interesting things_ with Shad!'" he mocked.

Sheik eyes closed halfway. "Maybe _don't_ make him cry, too."

Shadow wiped the grin off his face and instead looked sheepish. "Right. Tact."

* * *

Shadow and Zelda reappeared just as the bell rang for next period. Zelda looked a lot happier somehow, like she'd grown a few inches or something. Link watched as she and Shadow sat across from him as if with a purpose. So she looked happier, but why did she look like she'd just been crying?

Zelda smiled at him. "I'll see you after school, Link. Okay?"

Something about the heavy tone in her voice told him he shouldn't bail out today. Not that he was going to, he loved spending time with Zelda and Shadow, but her expression made him think today was an especially important day to be there for his friends. Zelda in particular. "Okay. You can count on me."


	6. Chapter 6

**(Continued from last chapter) Double update!**

 **AN: I'm uploading TWO chapters today because I won't be uploading one next Saturday. So make sure you don't miss one!**

 **Also, new LoZ characters!**

 **Thank you to Izzyboopers and Moonlight Raven Grave for reviewing the last chapters. It makes me so happy!**

 **Thanks for reading! Let me know if something needs fixing/changing! Dealing with some serious stuff in this story, so I want to get it right 3**

* * *

Chapter 6: Prelude to War

 _My dearest Hump-a-lump,_

 _Won't you be my Lover's Day Love? Aaaalways, I wanna DANCE with you, make a ROMANCE with you, and live in harmony, harmony, OOOH YEAAAAH!_

 _XOXOXOXO_

 _-The Groosenator_

Sheik held the letter between a thumb and forefinger, gagging.

A long shudder started at his ears and slowly traveled down his neck, one arm then the other, his waist, and finally down both legs and out his feet. Sheik wiggled to get the eebie jeebies out, then crumpled the letter and kicked it into the hole under the lockers, not wanting to even cart it all the way to the trash across the hall.

He shut his locker and walked along. _No way am I going to the dance with THAT lunatic!_ It was only one of many invitations that had come from different would-be escorts over the last two weeks. Hyrule's "princess" was extremely popular by default. The attention would be flattering if he didn't know it was because his father had lots of money and power, and also because, well, everyone thought he was a _girl_ , so . . .

Wouldn't it be nice to ask a girl to the dance? Or . . . maybe a guy?

He honestly wasn't sure what his sexuality was. He was a bit busy hating his female body to be much interested in anyone else's, and too busy _trying_ to be a boy without getting into trouble to notice any.

He'd gotten away with wearing a tight sports bra today, so he didn't feel _quite_ so feminine. However, he avoided any and all mirrors and tried not to look down at himself, and dreaded trips to the bathroom. He wore a white tank under a cute lavender shirt with little gems on the sleeves, and his jeans had sparkly butt pockets. He tried to ignore the way his hips swished when he walked.

Link appeared at the end of the hallway. "Hey Zelda!"

Sheik grinned tightly. He hadn't told Link about his gender problem yet. After he'd calmed down after spilling it all out to Shadow, he'd suddenly gotten very closed up and shy, and wasn't quite sure how to open up again. I mean, revealing it to Shadow wasn't a big deal, they just met a month ago or so. Link, however . . . Link had known him as a girl for _years_ , summer after summer. What would Link think once he finally found out? Would he still want to be friends? Would he think Sheik was weird? More importantly, if he DIDN'T want to be Sheik's friend anymore, Sheik didn't think he could handle the loss of such a good friend.

Link smirked. "You look like you got one of those Groosy letters."

He grinned. "Yeah. I'd show you, but I've already disposed of it." _Come to think of it, there's probably a whole rat's nest of his love letters to me under the lockers_.

"So are we gonna hang out later?"

They broke into step together. "Definitely!" Sheik responded. "Although if you don't mind, I could really use help with decorations for the dance this weekend."

"Oh, uh . . ." Link suddenly slowed. "Er, speaking of the dance . . . who are you going with?"

Sheik did not like where this was going. Except he did. Except he didn't. _Oh crap!_ "Ah, nobody's asked me! I mean, nobody I like . . ."

"Do you like somebody? I mean, are you gonna ask somebody? Cuz I mean, you and me've never been to a _dance_ together." He shrugged shyly. "I dunno, could be fun."

A flush rose up Sheik's cheeks. "I—I haven't asked anybody, no."

Link's face brightened. "Oh great! So . . . would you go with me?" He ducked his head, shyly.

He would NEED a date, Sheik told himself as his heart raced wildly, trying to stay logical. His parents wouldn't allow him to go to a dance alone, or even skip the dance altogether. He'd probably have to wear a frilly dress, and it's not like he and Link were more than friends, so it made sense that they would go together, AND it would make it so Sheik didn't have to go with any of his parents' pick for Best Suitor Of The Year again.

Or Groose.

He shuddered again.

Link took that as a bad sign. "We don't have to! It was just a thought." His voice broke a little.

"No, I'd like to!" Sheik rushed to reassure him.

Link looked up again. "Really?"

Sheik grinned. "Yeah! I mean, Shadow will be there, too, so maybe we can all hang out?"

A faint cloud blew over Link's face. "Actually . . . I was thinking of us going as a . . . as a couple."

All logic and excuses flew out the proverbial window. "A couple. You mean . . ." _A date._ Now he blushed all over.

Link shrugged. "Well, I mean . . . Shadow's awesome, I love the guy, but it's just been awhile since it was just . . . us, you know? Doing something special."

Sheik felt relief. "Oh. Y-yeah, I get what you mean. You and me. We should definitely do that more often."

Link's face broke into a bigger grin. "Awesome! Yeah, it's just . . . it just feels like you've been kinda distant for a while, and I miss you."

His puppy-dog look almost made Sheik cringe. He put a hand on Link's arm. "Oh, Link, we don't have to wait until the dance. Why don't we go out for ice cream right after school?"

"What about Shadow?"

"Shadow Shmadow. He'll understand. Besides, you two have spent time alone together, now it's _our_ turn."

Link cheered up. It was good to see him smile.

* * *

Aryll threw bread crumbs up in the air for Seagull to catch. The bird had become a frequent visitor of their backyard, following Aryll around, staring at her curiously when she spoke. Link didn't understand how Aryll could talk to seagulls, but the bird sure seemed to understand her. Or at least listen attentively.

He and Zelda sat on the back porch. Zelda was blowing through a tiny bubble wand. Dozens of bubbles decorated the yard, not going far since it was an absolutely windless day. They'd been blowing bubbles for Aryll's amusement, but Aryll had since moved on and Zelda was just doing it because . . . bubbles. Bubbles are awesome.

"So, a whole month," She commented. "And . . . almost sixth months since the accident."

Link nodded somberly.

"How are you holding up?"

"I miss . . . I miss them a lot. I can't sleep sometimes, but it's getting better."

"Did my CD help?"

Link smiled. Zelda had specially made him a mixed CD for nights when he couldn't sleep, full of nice soft rock melodies. "Yeah, it helped a lot."

"I could make you another one."

"I'd like that."

She blew more bubbles before continuing, "Why is sleeping so hard?"

Link wrung his hands uncomfortably. "When I sleep, I forget. And when I wake up, I have to remember . . ." his eyes became glassy.

Zelda put an arm around him.

"I saw their faces," said Link, a tear making it down his face. "They were cold, _staring_. And there was blood everywhere. Aryll's still terrified of cars." He shoulders began to shake underneath Zelda's arm. "It just happened so fast, but then it was _so long_ while we waited for the firemen to dig us out. I kept wishing I'd fall asleep, or else wake up, because it was just like a nightmare. A horrible, horrible nightmare."

"It'll be okay, Link."

"No it won't, they're _dead_. And I didn't even get to say g-goodbye." He dropped his face into his hands. "And Aryll doesn't even know the difference! She keeps asking where they are!"

Zelda began rubbing his back.

Link groaned. "I can't even go visit their graves because we couldn't afford to ship them HERE. They're still in Outset! I hate it, Zelda, I just, I HATE IT!"

 _It's a good thing we decided to spend time alone. Links been holding a lot in_. Zelda felt a little bad as a friend. She was glad she was here now, though. She hadn't realized it, but she missed the Link she'd known before, the lighthearted one who always had a smile for her, always there when she scraped her knee or needed cheering up. She hated seeing him broken down like this, and it made her angry that the Goddesses had put him and his whole family through this. _Why'd if have to be Link? Why not somebody else's family? Link never did anything wrong . . ._

"Link Link Link!"

Link lifted his head to find Aryll staring at his shirt, concerned, gripping her own shirt in her hands anxiously. Link smiled. "I'm okay, Aryll. How are you?"

She blinked, then nodded. Gingerly, she reached out a hand and patted his knee through the ripped hole in his jeans, then scurried off to play with Seagull again. Then the smile faded. "I don't know how I'd do this without her."

"She's definitely a strong force," Zelda said with a smile.

Link returned the smile weakly.

* * *

 _Knock-knock, kno-knock knock._

Shadow leapt off the living room couch and ran to the front door. He opened the door excitedly and grinned at the person standing on the porch. "Hi, Vaati!"

Vaati was a shortish guy, wearing sunglasses to protect his sensitive eyes. He had some sort of albinism, except it turned him a kind of . . . purple. A light purple, like lavender. And his hair was white. He and Shadow had bonded over the fact that they both had red eyes. It looked like Vaati had come over straight from school. He was still wearing his uniform, a button up collared shirt, a dark blue jacket over that, and . . . unlike most schools . . . a kilt. It reached his knees, but it might as well have been a skirt the way Vaati strutted around in it with his hips thrust out. A smile broke across his small, petite little mouth. "Hi, Shay-Shay."

They hugged.

"Still making you wear those girly uniforms?" Shadow asked as they let go.

"Yeah," Vaati replied, flourishing a careless hand, "but I don't mind. The boys love my legs."

Shadow chuckled at the seductive look on Vaati's face. "How're the boys otherwise?"

"Oh, they're doing alright, but school ain't the same without you." He smirked.

"How so?" Shadow flirted as they settled on the couch.

Vaati sighed. "Not enough pranking or goofing around. It's gotten much too serious since you changed schools. I still don't know WHY you'd want to go to a new school that has _girls_ in it!"

"I _like_ girls, remember?"

"Posh! You like everybody."

"Yeah, including _girls_."

Vaati smirked slyly. "I see how it is. You've gone to the light side and have left poor little me in the dark, all alone!" He brushed the back of a hand across his forehead dramatically. Then settled back in his seat, bouncing one leg on top of the other. "So what's her name?"

"What?" Shadow laughed. "No, no, I haven't met any girls. I mean, Midna's okay, but I don't think we'd ever fit dating, and Nabooru is . . . yeesh, she kinda makes you feel worthless for being a man, y'know?"

"What about Zelda? You and that Link guy seem to hang out with her a lot."

Of course, Vaati didn't know about Sheik's . . . situation. Not sure what to say without revealing too much, Shadow quickly, probably too quickly, stated, "Nope. Never. Nuh-uh. Not gonna happen."

Vaati raised an eyebrow. "That seemed a bit rushed."

Shadow rubbed his neck nervously. "Just . . . it's complicated, okay?"

Vaati hummed a hearty cackle in his throat. "Uh-huh. Yep. You've gone to the light side."

Shadow shook his head, but wondered at Vaati's questioning. Did Shadow have a thing for Sheik? Was it showing and he didn't even know it yet? "So anyway, there's this _dance_ thing going on this Saturday, and since I won't be there for the Lover's Day Dance at Hyrule Academy, I thought maybe you could come here instead."

Vaati straightened and drew in a sharp gasp. "Shadow, don't DO that to my heartstrings!" He removed hands from his mouth. "Are you serious?"

"Have I ever NOT been serious with you in times like this?"

"Oh Darky~" Vaati cooed, hearts in his eyes. He reached over and snuggled against Shadow.

"Oh V. I love you, too, you moron."

"Skank."

"Twerp."

"Loser."

"Slut."

" _Hey._ "

Shadow grinned. "Oh, sorry." He waggled his eyebrows. " _Sex connoisseur_."

Vaati smiled at him lovey-doverly.

* * *

"The newspaper's printing tomorrow," said Nabooru, flipping her long red ponytail. "So what should I put on the ad?"

Zelda paused folding paper lanterns to reply to the tall, dark-skinned teenager. "I don't know, that's kinda why I hired you!"

"But it's _your dance_. Ugh!" Nabooru rolled her golden eyes. "I'm doing you a favor. Most people don't get to pick what I say about their crap projects."

"I know what we SHOULD say," broke in Midna, making a killer-looking paper chain. "'Come join us for a celebration of being alone on a manufactured holiday!'"

Nabooru acted as though she were writing that down, nodding her head.

Zelda chuckled. "Alright, alright! Say . . . Love Comes For Us All, but for you, dear students, something better. For when YOU come to this Lover's Day Dance, it shall be . . . with FREE CHOCOLATE!"

Midna and Nabooru burst out laughing.

* * *

 **AN:** What a nabob Ganondorf is! Naboberry, nabobish. THIS IS A GREAT WORD. LOOK IT UP IT'S AMAZING!

Also, I don't really like how this chapter ended, but I've run out of time and it's pretty much the right length, sooooooo.


	7. Chapter 7

**AN:**

 **Suggested soundtrack: Albinoni-Adagio from Concerto Opus 9 No. 2 on trumpet and organ**

 **HEY! If you search "Hyrule Castle High" on you tube, there should be a playlist called that which has all the songs in the suggested soundtracks for this story AS WELL AS songs to come and other cool songs. You should check it out!**

 **conniethecat, THANK YOU SO MUCH for the reviews! I'm so glad you're enjoying it :)**

 **Also thank you to Moonlight Raven Grave and Izzyboopers for reviews. You two are wonderful and I wish this site would let me use a heart emoticon!**

* * *

Chapter 7: LE FAMILY FEUD

Ganondorf had been standing outside Shadow's door for at least two hours, shoulders hunched as he procrastinated what he knew he had to say. Some song about waiting and an upbeat guitar riff drifted past the door from inside. As if slowly cracking out of a stone shell, his hand rose, curled into a fist, and lightly rapped on Shadow's door.

In response, the nice rock music turned to heavy metal and rose to a thunderous volume.

Ganondorf's face turned as red as his hair. "RAAAAAAUGH FORGET IT!" He stormed away in embarrassment and anger, sitting at the kitchen counter, steam rising out of his ears and nose.

He waited for the end of the song. As soon as there was silence, he bounded back to Shadow's room, vibrating the whole house with each step. He had almost made it when a new song started.

"RAAAAAAAAUGH!" He slammed on the door repeatedly. "OPEN THE DOORRRRRRRRRR!"

Third time's the charm, right? He left the door and sulked on the living room couch, which was only a few feet from Shadow's door.

The music stopped. Ganondorf practically pounced on the door from the couch. He slammed into the heavy door, not even bothering to knock, squashing his nose in the process. As he waited for Shadow to either open the door or play another song, Ganondorf stood flush against the door, silent.

Moments passed.

He heard the quiet strummings of an electric guitar, but no actual music. Shadow was using earphones. Ganondorf's fingernails clawed against the door and scraped down. In one swift motion, he stepped back and smashed his foot into the door, sending it flying off his hinges into the room.

He heard Shadow cry out as he stormed in. The youth was sat on a stool next to his amp and speakers, earphones on his head and guitar cradled protectively in his hands. "D-Dad! What!"

Ganondorf towered over the cowering boy. "WHEN I KNOCK YOU WILL OPEN THE DOOR!"

Shadow shrank more, looking more than a little shaken. And scared. He averted his ruby eyes, his dark lashes shadowing the light in them, darkening them, hiding from him. As if they could.

A different pair of eyes haunted him, just like the ones he saw on his son. It was the last look before _she_ left him. Before she—

"I'm . . . sorry," Ganondorf forced out.

He hated saying sorry. Whenever he had to say sorry, those hidden eyes would suddenly spill over with tears.

"What do you want?" Shadow asked. A small droplet fell onto the neck of his guitar. He wiped it away furiously, but not before Ganondorf saw.

"I bought . . . I . . ." Ganondorf recognized he was standing between Shadow and the door, and suddenly scurried a couple feet away into the mess of clothing that lay about the floor. "Just go look in the kitchen . . ." He scratched the back of his neck.

Shadow moved out of fear more than any sort of curiosity. After all, what horrible experiment did his dad want to show him? He set down his guitar and left the room wordlessly. Ganondorf stayed in the bedroom, every muscle in his body taut like, well, the string of a guitar.

After five minutes of silence—that's what it felt like, anyhow—Ganondorf peeked out the now-doorless door frame. Shadow stood in profile looking into the kitchen. His expression was emotionless. He just stared.

Ganondorf took small steps out of the room and behind and little to the left of Shadow, looking over the kitchen counter into the kitchen itself. On the ground were twelve boxes of Rabbitland Snacks, each box containing eight bags of the things. "I bought them wholesale!" Ganondorf mentioned, a modicum of pride in his voice.

Shadow glanced at him, nothing more.

Ganondorf clenched his fists, and his teeth. "I . . . I am sorry for not listening to your wishes regarding . . . your diet." The next bit was extremely hard to bite out, but somehow he managed. "I saw you liked these, so I bought a pile. I hoped this would make up for my earlier intolerance."

Some emotion passed over Shadow's face, as if Ganondorf had missed the mark entirely. Exasperation, and none of the hurt had gone away.

When? When would his son look at him with joy again? When had he stopped, and why? Ganondorf's eyes slowly fell to Shadow's hands. He knew when. He knew why. The boy was still wearing those blasted fingerless gloves, the ones that went past his wrist, almost to his elbows. He never took the things off.

Ganondorf reached a hand out, but stopped it when it was hovering over Shadow's shoulder. Then he removed it. _No. That will only hurt him more_. Hands firmly at his sides again, he waited.

Shadow released a breath of air, then breathed sharply in. Ganondorf thought he would speak, but then Shadow just breathed out, again. His mouth was set in a stiff line, forehead crinkled in that particular way.

Ganondorf let out a breath of his own, and said quietly, "You look exactly like your mother."

Ruby eyes flashed up. Of course, that _would_ get his attention. Ganondorf's mouth bent into a soft smile. Then he strode a few steps away, looking at his watch. "I never could make her happy, either . . ."

Shadow blinked slowly. "Then . . . why did she marry you?"

Ganondorf wasn't expecting _that_ question, nor the accusatory tone it was said in. He dropped his watch hand and put both hands in his pockets, back to Shadow. "Because . . . she thought I was something I wasn't, and I let her believe that."

"You're sick," Shadow ground out.

His father turned, raising an unamused eyebrow at him. His golden eye glinted in the dark. "Yes. I suppose I am."

"Why did you do it?"

"Because I loved her, and I was afraid someone else would steal her away from me." He turned away again. "In the end, we both lost. She died."

Shadow knew that last part already, of course, so Ganondorf didn't feel like reliving it.

"Giving birth to me," Shadow finished. Ganondorf nodded. "And . . . I look exactly like her?"

Ganondorf turned around again. "My door boy, have you not looked at the picture I gave you?"

Shadow appeared to think. Obviously if he had, it hadn't occurred to him to think he looked like her, much less acted like her and shared her expressions. Shadow ran to his room and dug under the clothes to his nightstand, the drawer from which he pulled an old pictograph and stared at it intently, as if it were a test at school or something else equally brain tasking.

Ganondorf pulled out his wallet and opened it. A smaller version of the same pictograph resided in the clear pocket of it. A beautiful woman stared back at him, long hair like midnight shadows, skin as white as snow, and ruby red eyes. Her face was angular, her nose distinct, her chin small but still held up in case you made the mistake that it was weak.

"I really look like her?" Shadow asked.

"Well you don't take after _me_ at all, of course—" Ganondorf cut himself off. "Why don't we . . . go watch some pictovids of her, so you can see?"

Shadow glanced up. "Really?!"

"Yes. You know you can watch them whenever you want."

"Okay!" Shadow leapt out of his room and pranced toward the entertainment room.

"WAIT!" Ganondorf stopped him with a hand. Shadow paused with a slight flinch. Ganondorf looked at him, deadpan. One side of his mouth snaked up as he said, "Snnnnacks." He punched his fingers through the top of one of the snack boxes and picked it up.

Shadow's eyes lit up a little, and he poorly hid a mocking giggle. His father, eating vegan snacks! He ran away to hide his mirth, but Ganondorf heard his laughter anyway. He smirked and followed the boy.

* * *

"Dad? Who is the man in the video?"

They were watching his and Hilda's wedding. Ganondorf sat on the couch, taking up most of it, and Shadow lay backwards on the recliner, watching the TV over the lowered back of the chair. The man Shadow was referring to was the best man, a big, light-haired fellow. The picture was in black and white, but it was easy to see the man had striking eyes.

"That . . . is an old friend. He's . . . dead now."

"Oh. What's his name?"

". . . I don't remember."

Shadow grinned disbelievingly. "What? He was your best man, and you don't even remember his name?"

"He wasn't THAT much of a friend."

Shadow sighed disapprovingly. "Well Mom sure seems to know him well."

 _Mom_. Ganondorf had dreamt about hearing his kids call her that. She had, too. If only some dreams had actually come true for her. "They were . . . close. She probably would remember his name. It was her idea to make him the best man."

"Didn't you have any friends?"

"Not . . . really. It was hard keeping friends going from foster home to foster home, and obviously I have no family, so . . ."

"Did Mom have family?"

"Yes."

"Where?"

"They . . ." Ganondorf had never told him this before. How could he? "They wanted nothing to do with me after your mother died."

"Oh." The smallest hint of hurt crossed his features, as Ganondorf knew it would. "But what about me? Don't they want to see . . . me? I'm family, aren't I?"

Ganondorf stared into his almost-empty bowl of popcorn and shuffled the unpopped kernels around a bit. "I invited them to birthday parties, asked them to babysit, called them a lot." He started to get frustrated. "Emailed them, pestered them. One even dared to try to get some kind of protective order against me to make me stop bugging them."

"What? Why?"

Ganondorf glanced back at the door he'd kicked down. "I was a different man back then."

"But why would they leave me with—" Shadow caught himself barely in time, but Ganondorf understood his question.

"Why did they leave you with a man such as me and not even try to be part of your life? That I would like to know as well. I have no answers for you."

His words were cold, but he didn't know how else to say them. Shadow retreated into himself then, for a while, staring at the floor in thought. "Did you . . . try to get rid of me?"

Ganondorf tensed and he turned his head sharply toward Shadow. "NEVER!" He shoved the popcorn bowl off his lap and clasped his hands. "You are your mother's child, I could never—I couldn't—not like my parents. _I couldn't_. I would never put you in a home. I could never give you up. I never wanted you out of my sight!"

Shadow seemed surprised at the sudden outburst of pseudo affection. Then he looked at the people on the video, all his mother's family, all those who had ignored him. Turning away from the picture, Shadow punched the Off button on the remote. "I don't wanna see that one anymore . . . is there another one?"

Ganondorf clenched his fists in anger again. _How dare they_. "Uh . . . I don't know. I'll go look." He stood and walked to the protected safe in the wall that currently stood open. It was full of pictovid cases. Most of the later ones were of only him and Shadow . . . well, mostly Shadow. After his mother died, Ganondorf became somewhat paranoid about death and strove to document every moment of Shadow's life until just a few years ago, when he and Shadow had stopped . . . well . . .

He pulled one out titled with a very old date and removed the tape. _I think this is the one . . ._ He walked to the TV and put the tape in, then sat back on the couch. Shadow perked up eagerly.

His father appeared past the static, and then the picture became clear. This one was in color. A melodic, burbling giggle filled the air. Apparently it was his mother recording. Mrs. Dragmire set up the camera and then sat across Ganondorf at the dining room table, one Shadow didn't recognize, in a house he didn't recognize, either. The younger Mr. Dragmire in the vid looked completely befuddled as to what his wife was up to. Mrs. Dragmire was beautiful, and Shadow saw he really did have her eyes.

"Wow," Ganondorf heard him whisper wonderingly. "Mom's a babe."

Ganondorf smirked. "Yes, she was."

She smiled at Mr. Dragmire mysteriously and placed a box in front of him. Mr. Dragmire stared at it suspiciously, and somewhat dumbly. "What?" he asked.

"Open it," she said, and Ganondorf could practically _hear_ the grin spread across Shadow's face from hearing her voice more clearly.

Mr. Dragmire suffered her incessant giggling only a little bit longer before touching the box with a single finger, as if it might explode. This made Mrs. Dragmire burst out loud in laughter. Raising an eyebrow, a look Shadow was well familiar with, Mr. Dragmire opened the tiny box. It was so tiny he could barely fit two of his thick fingers into it. He barely managed to pull out a tiny piece of cloth that looked like some sort of teeny little bag. "What is it?" Ganondorf asked immediately.

Mrs. Dragmire laughed. "Oh come _on_."

"No seriously. Is it like a scent bag or—come on, Hilda, what is this?"

A good-natured facepalm. "It's a _booty_ , you moron!"

"A booty?

"A baby booty."

"A baby b- . . . wait, you mean—" Mr. Dragmire's eye looked like they might pop out of his head. Shadow was already giggling madly in his chair.

Mrs. Dragmire began to cry. "I'm _pregnant!_ " she sang with happy arm gestures.

Mr. Dragmire suddenly stood up, mouth agape, the booty still in his hand. He crossed the distance between them in a single step and grabbed her by the shoulders, staring deep into her eyes, looking for confirmation. She grinned happily in response, still crying. Mr. Dragmire kissed her passionately in joy—

A crash drew Ganondorf's attention away from the vid. Shadow had full on jumped three feet in the air at the sight of his parents kissing, and had literally tumbled off the chair and to the ground.

Ganondorf burst into laughing, loud and raucous. "Bet you never thought you'd see THAT, didja, boy?

Shadow got back up, dazed, and stared back at the screen, in which Mr. Dragmire was twirling his wife around in the air in the living room almost out of sight of the camera. "Wow, she's so really happy about me."

"Your mother loved you very much, and wanted you very much, despite what the rest of her family thinks."

Shadow was still watching the screen, and it took a moment for Ganondorf to realize it was an altogether different clip. They were now at a doctor's office, Hilda sitting on the doctor's table. An ultrasound machine was next to the table. Ganondorf racked his brains to remember what this was.

A man's voice, not Mr. Dragmire's, was behind the camera, singing stupid songs and getting the camera uncomfortably close to Hilda's face. Shadow stepped closer to the TV instinctively, as well. Hilda kept

waving the man away, giggling, "Stop! Stop!"

"Here we are," the man was saying, "Waiting for Hilda's first ultrasound of her in vitro babies. Rah! Rah! Will she have healthy babies, OR WILL THEY BE MUTANTS!"

"Oh shut up, Ravio, I'm already stressed as it is!"

"In vitro?" Shadow asked.

"Yes. We had . . . trouble conceiving. It was our last resort. Thank the Goddesses it worked."

The man, Ravio, was still talking. "One baby, OR FIVE HUNDRED?!"

Hilda rolled her eyes. "Oh my goddesses, seriously, Ravio!"

"Sorry," the man chuckled apologetically.

Shadow piped in. "Dad, where are you?"

Ganondorf was equally confused. "I don't know. I guess I couldn't get off work. Had to work a lot those days . . ."

Ravio leaned over next to Hilda and into the camera lens. He made a dorky face and Hilda stuck her tongue out. Shadow recognized the man. It was the best man from the wedding video, except here he had black hair.

"Who's the weird guy?" Shadow's voice was laced with suspicion.

"Oh, I forgot that idiot dyed his hair black. Said he wouldn't grow it out until we had a healthy baby . . ." Ganondorf was getting a bad feeling . . . there was something he needed to remember _desperately_ about this one ultrasound.

"Okay!" The doctor said. "I'm getting a heartbeat!"

"OH! OH! SHUT UP SHUT UP RAVIO!" Hilda hissed loudly.

"A heartbeat?" cried the mysterious Ravio. "Does that mean it's working?"

"SHH!"

The three adults cooed over the sound of a hearbeat they could hear only through earphones.

 _Heartbeat . . ._ the thought seemed incredibly familiar. Heartbeat. When did Violet tell him about the first heartbeat? He racked his brains, scratching his head vigorously.

"Oh—oh wait!" the doctor was saying.

"What?" Both Hilda and Ravio said with sudden alarm.

The doctor was looking at the video of the ultrasound. "I think I see . . . give me the earphones."

 _That doctor visit_. Ganondorf thought. _What was special about that doctor visit? . . . WAIT!_ Ganondorf scrambled to find the remote, but it had fallen somewhere after Shadow fell off the chair. He leapt up to turn the screen off.

The doctor listened intently, and then her face lit up brightly. "Thought so! Congratulations, Mrs. Dragmire, you're having twins."

Ganondorf pushed the off button just a second too late.

"WHAT! DAD!"

"That was nothing!" Ganondorf was saying, pulling the tape out and quickly returning it to its case and stuffing it into his pocket.

"BUT DAD!" Shadow was shouting. "TWINS! THE DOCTOR SAID TWINS! I—" suddenly his face became somber. "Did he die?"

"No—" Ganondorf said without thinking.

Shadow clambered forward on the chair, making it fall backward and he rolled to a stop at Ganondorf's feet and grabbed his legs. "YOU MEAN I HAVE A TWIN?! I HAVE A TWIN OH MY—" he broke into some colorful swears he'd heard his father say once.

"WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE!" Ganondorf yelled.

"WHERE IS HE? WHERE DOES HE LIVE CAN I SEE HIM? HER? IS IT A HER? IS IT A HE? WHAT'S-SHER-NAME-DADDY?"

"Shadow!" Ganondorf pinched the bridge of his nose between two fingers.

Surprisingly, Shadow shut up.

"I can't tell you. I can't—you can't—rrrrrrgh." Ganondorf let out a huge sigh, suddenly unable to speak.

Shadow's mouth gaped as he realized Ganondorf was about to _cry_.

"I can't tell you until you're older," Ganondorf said.

"Why not?"

"Because . . . his family wouldn't want it."

"His family? I thought WE were his family? Dad, is HE in a home?"

"No!" Ganondorf replied sharply. "Just . . . Don't ask me about him. Not now."

"But _why?_ "

"It's . . . complicated."

Shadow looked about to shout 'why' again, so Ganondorf took him by the shoulders and leaned down to level with him. "What do I have to do to get you to forget this until you're older?"

"But—"

"You CANNOT know him, Shadow. I wish it weren't so."

For a second Shadow looked as though he may protest yet again, but finally he just ducked his head a little, then glanced up. " _Anything?_ "

"Yes. Almost. NO LAB STUFF." He added when Shadow was about to obviously ask him to release all the animals.

Shadow sighed, and thought. And smirked. A large, wily smirk.

Ganondorf gulped.

* * *

Shadow tightened his bow tie around the collar of his starch white shirt. Then he put on his tuxedo jacket. What? He knew how to be smashing . . .

He even had coattails, like a musician, and his hair was combed through and left hanging in waves around his head. On his breast he pinned the insignia of the Hyrule Academy for Boys. Jumping in front of the floor length mirror in the bathroom, he struck a pose. His coat even had coattails, like a musician, and his hair.

Oh, _his hair!_

It had been bleached to heck and back, and then dyed the most royal color of purple. It fell in flashy, sparkling waves like some kind of merman hair.

 _Purple_.

Ganondorf had nearly died at the request, but he couldn't back out, now could he?

So here was Shadow, ready for a dance in a long, purple 'do and a smashing tux.


	8. Chapter 8

AN: Whoops! One day late . . . sorry! I don't feel very well, so sorry if this isn't very long.

Thank you for the reviews, Izzyboopers and Moonlight Raven Grave!

Suggested soundtrack: Courtesy Call by Thousand Foot Crutch (This is the song Vaati sings)

ALSO! I see Vaati as having a French accent. Not a stereotypical one, though. I also think he looks a lot like Alexander Ferrario, who is a French model.

* * *

Chapter 7: LE DANCE

Link felt really odd in a tux. It was a light tan tux with a green bow tie. His grandmother had insisted on him getting a haircut, not that his hair was much shorter, just . . . less of what Seagull's nest must look like. Link blew air into his cheeks before letting it out, then slowly left his room and went downstairs.

"There he _iiiiiis_!" Granny clapped as he descended the stairs, making his face flush in embarrassment.

He REALLY didn't like being the center of attention . . .

Aryll glared at him with a weirded out expression. "Link?" she asked.

"It's me, Aryll." Link hadn't believed it either just seconds ago, looking in the bathroom mirror. He was so . . . weird looking, and his jaw was too big for his face, his ears too long and pointed, eyebrows too bushy and low on his brow. Did you know they had combs for eyebrows?

Sheesh.

Granny scurried to the fridge. "And now the finishing touch!" She pulled out a small container and pulled out a boutonniere, one small white lily with brown spots. Link grinned. "Oh, hey! Outset flowers."

"I thought that might make you happy," said Granny as she pinned it to his lapel. "There's a matching one for Zelda in a little container in the drawer on the left."

"Thanks, Granny," Link said, smiling and chuckling.

She suddenly patted his cheeks. "Ooooh, my beautiful boy's first dance!"

"Beautiful? Grandma, when Zelda gets here, do you mind calling me _handsome?_ And yes, I shaved. With Dad's old shaving kit."

"Ooh, that's wonderful, dear. Can't believe you have peach fuzz already," Granny exclaimed. "And not a nick on you!"

"Well . . . I've been practicing!"

Granny smiled. "I see! Special night?"

Link shook his head, taking a moment to needlessly adjust his collar. "No. I just miss him, is all. His aftershave reminds me of him."

Placing a sympathetic hand on his arm, Granny smiled sadly. "He misses you, too, honey. He misses you, too."

Link's parents had never really taught him to believe in an afterlife, but apparently it was a big deal to Granny. Actually, to MOST older Hylians. It was as if the older generation was in general just more religious than the newer one. Link turned to look at the cucco clock on the wall. "Wow! I'd better meet Zelda. I'll see you later, Grandma."

* * *

Link and Zelda walked together into the already-crowded dance floor. "Royalty rules dictate," Zelda had said, " _never_ arrive on time!" She wore a green chiffon dress that looked like a bell flower, and feathery leaves above her ears to mimic her crown.

"Wow, the decorations are awesome, Zelda!" Link commented. Garlands were hung on every wall and on the light fixtures. The whole gym had been turned into a replica of a forest temple. Tiny lights faded in and out between the leaves like fireflies.

Too bad the same couldn't be said for the band. They were . . . struggling. No one was really dancing because the band kept restarting or fumbling, or just playing a tune that wasn't dance-able.

Zelda frowned and covered her ears. "Aaaaugh! Nabooru said they were good. NABS!"

It took them only a few seconds to find Nabooru, who was dressed in harem pants and a more modest version of the Gerudo top—as per school dress code regulations. She wore gold lipstick and purple eye shadow, her hair pulled into a high ponytail by a giant golden bead.

"WHAT HAPPENED?!" Zelda shouted over the 'music.'

"BAND CANCELED!" Nabooru shouted back, just as irritated. "HAD TO FIND VOLUNTEERS FROM THE AUDIENCE UNTIL REPLACEMENTS ARRIVE! . . . THEY SUCK! WELL, EXCEPT FOR SHAD, THAT IS!"

At that name, Link glanced up at the platform and got a closer look. Shad was the bassist— _Shad's a bassist?!—_ and he looked beyond bored. He sat in the back of the platform—way back, apparently not wanting to be associated with the other 'players' of the haphazard 'band.'

Link had to give them all props, though. I mean, just getting up there and playing like that.

He left Zelda to get drinks, and when he came back, he stood in front of the stage and watched the band—er, Shad.

Shad was so bored he sat on a chair, playing blind with his head hanging over the back of his seat. They were playing Termina Double Trouble, the most basic line dance that everyone had done since middle school. Link could feel the eye rolls cycling through the audience like a wave. The song had a neat bass line in the chorus, though, and Shad sat up as he realized they got to that part. His fingers played easily over the frets, but he only got a few bars in before the main guitarist yelled for the entire song to stop because he got lost in the too-fast tempo. So they slowed it down. A lot. And Shad leaned back again, playing the rest of the chorus in slow-mo without even looking, heaving a sigh, again as bored as a hammer with no nails to ham.

 _Nabs is right_ , Link thought. _He IS good!_

"Is the punch spiked?"

Link turned his head to the left. Zelda had approached him. He handed her a drink. "Huh?"

Zelda pointed her finger in circles at her own cheek. "You look a bit red."

The burn reached the rest of his face as Link coughed. "Oh. Um, no, not spiked. I think." He glanced back at Shad, then realized _that_ wouldn't help his case any, and then took Zelda's hand and guided her to the tables.

"Hey, now hold up!" said Zelda. "Let's finish our drinks and dance, okay?"

"Dance?" Link asked.

"Yeah." Zelda shrugged. "You know, that thing you do at dances?"

"Oh . . . okay."

* * *

Shadow looked at the gym clock and sighed. _Where is he?_ He passed a hand through his purple locks, enjoying the stares and returning them with a sultry gaze and half smile. He felt his pocket vibrate, and pulled his phone out and to his ear. "V! Where are you!"

" _Um . . . sorry. I'm right outside. I kind of got lost._ "

"How'd you get lost? Didn't you take a cab?"

" _I can't see. It's really dark. Can you come get me?_ "

Shadow blinked in surprise. "Sure! I'll be right there." He pocketed his phone and went outside.

Vaati stood in the parking lot, his hair drawn over his right eye. Shadow thought about making a crack about it, but then saw the timid way his friend stood. First of all, there were lights on in the dark and therefore Vaati could see the entrance just fine. Shadow walked up to him. "What's up?"

Vaati averted his eyes. "I . . . I don't feel like dancing."

Shadow's eyebrows lowered. "Why not? What happened?" His lifted a hand.

"Well, I—" Vaati stopped when Shadow pushed his hair out of his face and back behind his ear.

"Sorry," Shadow said, smirking, "I can't take you seriously with your hair like that. You're not one to hide, Vaati."

Vaati's cheeks flushed slightly. "I can't see out of that eye anymore."

Shadow's eyes widened. "Like, at all?" He knew albinism caused visual problems for sufferers, but jeez . . . that sucked!

"No," Vaati replied unhappily. "And everyone keeps waving their hands in front of it. I thought if I covered it with hair they'd stop. Plus they say it looks funny."

"Huh? That's stupid." Sure, it looked like his right and now blind eye had no pupil at all, unlike his left eye, but Shadow thought it was . . . pretty.

Vaati shrugged. "Yeah, well, things are different in high school I guess."

Shadow put his hands on Vaati's shoulders as the shorter boy's voice began to tremble. "V, tell me what happened!"

Self consciously, Vaati pulled his hair nervously over his blind eye again.

"No, no, don't do that."

Vaati shook his head and gripped his hair tightly. "They called me a _freak_." He barely got the word out, a breathy whisper.

A wave of numbness washed over Shadow, his mouth dropping open in shock. His hands tightened on Vaati's shoulders, and he gave a large, feral smirk. "Well of _course_ you are!"

"W-what?!"

Shadow put an arm on Vaati's shoulder and leaned down to level with the teen. "So am I." He pointed at their eyes. "Those other guys only _wish_ they were as unique as us. And anyway, even if I weren't a freak, I'd rather pretend to be a freak with you than hang around those boring idiots!"

The tiniest of smiles rose on Vaati's face. "I . . . I wish you still went to my school, Shadow."

"Don't worry, I've still got your back, alright?"

"Okay." Vaati braved a smile. "I like your hair. It's really cool."

Shadow flipped it behind his shoulder playfully. "Thanks. Now come on, let's go freak out!" He wrapped an around Vaati's shoulder and guided him, now grinning, inside. "There's this _horrible_ band going on, and we should really relieve them from their suffering."

"You're going to sing?"

"Or throw rotten eggs. Haven't decided yet!"

Vaati laughed.

* * *

"On second thought, let's _not_ ," Zelda was saying, glancing at the immobile dance floor.

"Maybe they should just wait for the replacement band to come in," Link said.

"No, no, I think it's amusing to watch Shad." She grinned. "Did you know he played bass?"

Link shook his head. "You think he knows about us?"

Zelda looked at him, deadpan. "How could he not? I'm the princess. I'm in a band. I need a bassist. A REAL bassist! No offense to Shadow."

It seemed Shad had had enough. He set down the bass guitar and leapt off the stage.

The band must go on. And it did . . . sort of. Without the bassist, you could barely hear the instruments over the loud talking of the audience.

Link felt a shove. He turned to Zelda. "Hey!"

"You should go talk to him," Zelda suggested.

"Why me?"

She winked at him. "I have a hunch. Go on, flirt with him or something!"

Link reddened. "What! I'm not—"

"Yeah, yeah, just get going. We've only got a few more weeks until the talent show!"

"Fine . . ." Not understanding the sudden jelly-like trait of his legs, Link bumbled his way across the floor to the red-head in the distance. As he got closer, Shad turned to a friend and Link caught sight of his glasses reflecting the myriad lights in the room. His heart beat faster. Link took a deep breath and drank from his cup, swishing the liquid in his mouth. _Come on, Link, pull yourself together. What is WRONG with you?!_

It was still pretty loud, and Shad had obviously not heard him say, "Hey!" So Link, much like Aryll he noted, reached out a gummy hand and tentatively tapped the young scholar on the shoulder.

Shad flashed his pretty blue eyes at him, then looked him up and down quickly. "Can I help you?"

His voice sounded deeper this close. Also, he had an accent. One of those sexy pish-posh ones . . . he wore a complicated waistcoat and puffy pants and deceptively practical dress shoes.

Link tried to find his voice, with varying degrees of success. "Uuuh, I saw you playing up there. You're good."

The boy looked away and adjusted his glasses. "Oh, that was nothing," he said in a dissatisfied way.

"Y-yeah, I can tell you can do way better. You know, if you had the band for it. I mean, that is, _do_ you have a band?"

Shad shrugged. "Sometimes I play at the Milk Bar."

Link's jaw dropped, his eyes a little starrier than he liked. "They let you play in _there?_ " His heart pounded against his chest. He had to be clear. "As a _bassist?_ "

Shad inspected Link curiously. "Yes. They only let the best play there, you know."

"Uh, oh, yeah! But I mean . . . you're underage." Link blinked at him. "Aren't you?"

He gave a half smile and raised an eyebrow in response. "I wouldn't very well be in _high school_ if I weren't, now would I? Unless I were an idiot."

Link squirmed. He hadn't meant to call Shad an idiot, that was rude . . . Shad seemed to find his discomfort amusing. Link stammered, "I didn't mean that! Uh . . . you, you're always doing those . . . y'know, _smart_ things. You're not an idiot at all," he chuckled. _Wow, smooth. Get your head in the game, me!_ "S-so, anyway, you play bass."

"Yes."

"I don't."

Shad nodded patiently. "A'ight."

Link swallowed the lump in his throat. "So . . . do you know about the talent show in a couple of weeks?"

"Of course."

"Are you playing in it?"

Shad bit his lower lip, a tiny wrinkle appearing between his eyebrows. "There are a few gigs I might be doing, but I dunno. Why?"

Link grinned. "Well, I'd like to watch you for one, but also . . . see . . . I'm in a band, and . . ."

Any interest Shad had in this conversation suddenly dropped off the face of the earth. He made to back off suddenly, but he looked uncertainly at Link, who was quick to say, "Wait, wait! I mean, we just need . . . we need a bassist. You've probably seen our fliers around school? The Royales?"

In his determination to keep the red-haired bassist, Link had put a hand on his arm. Shad shrugged it off easily. "Yeah."

Link thought carefully about his next words. He knew it was a long shot that someone as proficient as Shad would ever even look at their band once, let alone play for them, but he . . . he promised Zelda he'd try. "We're really passionate about what we do. We aren't just kidding around or anything, if that's what you're worried about. We'd only rehearse once a week." Okay, that was pushing it, but come on!

"I don't know," Shad was saying, edging away. "I'm really busy. Lots of 'smart things,' as you said."

"THIS is a smart thing! I know it!"

But Shad was still shaking his head. "No, I'm sorry . . ."

"My name's Link. The princess is our lead singer?"

Adjusting his glasses again, Shad said, "I'm sorry, Link, I just don't have time for just any band, that's all. I already looked like an idiot up there, and I only went because I owed the guitarist a favor."

Link dropped his arms to his side with a sigh, giving up. "Aw, well can I at least have your number?" Wait, what?

Shad did a double take. "What?"

 _WHAT?!_

Link hunched his shoulders in embarrassment. "I-I MEAN—! I'm interested in your position," he rushed, "You know, smart things, doing them! I . . . I'd really like to, you know, go on adventures, too . . . and stuff."

Shad smiled, relaxing. "Oh! You're interested in that? Say, aren't you the new kid in town?"

Also relaxing, Link smiled in relief and nodded. "Yeah. I moved in with my granny."

"Well I'll tell you what. I'll tell my supervisor that you're interested, and maybe put in a good word or two."

Link straightened. "Really?"

"Of course!" Shad put a hand on Link's shoulder. It felt like the world became a big clock tower, tolling out one o'clock. Link didn't hear the next words that came out of Shad's mouth. His vision was wavering a moment. When it finally cleared, Link stared dumbly up at Shad, having no clue how to reply to someone he hadn't heard in the first place. "Th-thanks!" he squeaked.

A knowing smile crossed Shad's features softly. What he knew, Link didn't bother to guess, just stood stock still as the scholarly boy patted his shoulder and then walked away into the crowd with a final nod and wave of his punch cup.

So dashing. Link blinked slowly and turned, finding his way back to Zelda to tell her the bad, good, sad? news.

"Okay, I can't stand it," Zelda was saying when he got there. She had a remote in her hand, and pushed several buttons. The band was suddenly drowned out by the gym's radio system, which started blaring this week's top ten. "Aaaaah, music! Sweet, blissful music!"

Link grinned, too.

"Now come on, you owe me a dance!" Zelda grabbed his hand and pulled him onto the dance floor. It was four fast dances in a row, and they danced madly enough that Link forgot all about Shad. They danced with all their friends in a circle which morphed and changed shape as others joined and left it.

Then the first slow dance came on. Zelda was quick to grab Link's hand. She pulled him so they stood facing each other. She held her hands up. Link copied her, sort of. Lamely. "Uh . . . I, er, uuuuuh."

Zelda rolled her eyes shyly. "Put your hand on my waist, stupid."

Link flushed. "Oh. Okay?"

"Stop that! You're embarrassing me."

"Sorry . . ."

Eventually Zelda talked him through the pose, one hand on her waist, the other holding her hand. They did the ever-famous Twilight Two Step. Link found it simple enough, thankfully, because his mind had drifted off.

He wasn't sure why, but . . . he hadn't ever thought about it before, but Zelda looked really pretty. He found it hard to keep his eyes on her face and not look anywhere else. _At all_. She had her arm against his shoulder, and it seemed so light and soft. The feelings were so real he was afraid to hold her too tightly.

It felt completely and entirely _uncomfortable_. "Um . . ."

"Yeah?" Zelda smiled at him, her eyes sparkling.

"I . . ." Link suddenly let go and pulled away. "I'm sorry."

Confused, Zelda replied, "Why?"

"I just . . I need a break. Can we stop?"

"Wha . . . well, yeah. Here, there's some seats over there."

They left the dance floor and walked to the chairs. Link sat with his elbows on his knees, not looking at Zelda and seeming very tense. Zelda sat next to him, not just a little confused.

"What's wrong?" she asked, leaning over to him.

"Nothing," he grunted. Having her sitting this close was bugging him. Bugging him a lot.

"Well, why are you being so obtuse?"

"What does that mean?"

Zelda sighed and leaned away, crossing her arms and legs. "We're not going to spend the whole dance sitting down, are we?"

Link didn't answer right away. "I just need to . . . think a while. That's all. I don't like the slow songs. It makes me feel . . ." What was he supposed to say? Weird? Scared? ". . . stupid."

"Uh . . . okay. We'll just dance the fast ones, then." Zelda tried to mask her disappointment.

"I'm sorry."

"Will you shut up? It's not your fault!"

 _Yeah it is_.

"Besides, we came here to spend time together, so come on! Fast song just came on, so move your butt!" She reached for his hand as he stood up, but he pulled his away before she could and walked ahead, leaving Zelda to follow after him, befuddled.

A huge squeak interrupted the music overhead, and everyone looked around with understandably annoyed remarks. Somebody was climbing onto the stage, a boy with purple hair and a dark tux.

"Shadow?" Zelda watched Shadow turn to the crowd with a big grin.

"Sup homies!" He spoke into a mic. "For those that don't know me . . ." he paused for effect, and most of the audience chuckled. Everybody knew him. Everybody. "Haha, anyway, I thought I'd rev up some excitement for tonight. We got a great talent show coming up, and my band REALLY needs a bassist! So to wet your appetites, I thought I'd give you all a taste of what you'll be getting. If my main guitar bro and my vocalist bro would kindly join me on the stage?"

 _What are you doing, Shadow?_ Zelda thought, but she grinned and walked to the stage.

Shadow met her at the edge. "Hey, dude, do you mind if I steal the mic from ya for one song?"

"Sure," Zelda replied, shrugging.

"Thanks. You're a _prince_." He backed to the center of the stage. Link had climbed onto the stage, surprisingly cheerful about the impromptu performance, and pulled the second guitar strap over his shoulder. Shadow addressed the crowd. "And just for today, we've got a _very special guest_ from Hyrule Academy! Give it up for Vaati!"

Hopeful claps and whoops filled the air as Shadow helped a silver-haired boy in an equally silver tux onto the stage. Zelda was quick to notice he had red eyes like Shadow, though one was slightly different than the other, and he was pale. Vaati stood close to Shadow while being handed his own mic, holding it tightly, forcing a small smile onto his face, hanging his head slightly, bashful.

"Sorry for the lack of bass!" Shadow yelled before putting his mic back on its stand and starting immediately with a riff to establish the key of the first song. It was so quick and fluttery it had the crowd in fits already. Shadow waited for them to quiet slightly, then glanced over at Vaati. He said something away from the mic, which made Vaati get a little more excited, and then they both began accapella:

"Hey-O!

Here comes a danger up in this club,

When we get started then we ain't gonna stop,

we gonna turn it up 'til it gets too hot."

Link joined with the guitar, playing the bass chords as they repeated the intro. Vaati slowly melted into his part, starting to tap his foot, a real smile breaking onto his lips as he stopped looking to Shadow for support and sang out over the crowd:

"Everybody sing

Hey-O!

Tell 'em turn it up til they can't no more,

Let's get this thing shakin' like a disco ball

This is your last warning,

a courtesy call."

Vaati held the mic in front of his face and screamed into it.

" **HEEEEEEEEEEY-OOOO!** "

His voice had that perfect scratchy quality needed for screaming metal. Then Shadow joined in with more complicated chords, and the entire gym began to jump up and down in time, yelling loudly. Shadow slammed the strings of his guitar like he was a demon. Link was completely drawn into the music, head banging with eyes scrunched shut. Zelda raised her hands into the air and screamed, pointing into the air.

When the song ended, the applause was deafening. Vaati gave several bashful bows before getting off the stage and helping Zelda onto it instead. He was soon surrounded by admirers and his face turned a cherry red. Shadow gave Zelda an equally hearty welcome and she took her place. Midna also appeared, miffed. "Hey! You guys planned this without me? What the hay balls. Nobody told me!"

"Sorry, gal, that song didn't need any drums, but we do now. Play for us pleeeeease?"

"Oh fine, you big baby." She high-fived Shadow and Link and took her place on the drumset.

Link and Shadow played the intro, and Midna put in the beat. Then Zelda began to sing, Shadow as backing vocals:

"I'm on the train that's pullin' the sick and twisteeeeed-WAAAAOW!"

All the band members turned to their left. The cause of their surprise was the deep, vibrating bass notes that had haphazardly joined their song. While they'd been busy, Shad had gotten onto the stage and opted to take position as bass guitarist. Obviously he knew the song. He smirked at the others' expressions. Shadow and Zelda grinned and recovered quickly, jumping right back into the song, grins doubled. Midna hadn't even blinked, as disciplined as she was . . . it helped she'd seen Shad get on stage. She only acknowledged him with a nod of approval. Link, however, stood staring at Shad, his own hands slack on his guitar. Shad noticed and raised an eyebrow. "Hey, Hero, you're holding up the band. Come on, now!"

A smile slowly broke out on Link's face, and he returned to his spot and started playing the rest of Freak Like Me by Halestorm.

Turns out they found their bassist.

* * *

"Heeeeeeeeee-yooooooo!" Shadow sang, walking next to Vaati on their walk to Shadow's house after the dance. He had his arm around the shorter teen, and Vaati held it happily, laughing along. "Freak like MEEEEEEEEEEE!"

They walked up the driveway and sat out on the porch, not wanting to go inside just yet. Their laughter died down, and Shadow looked up at the stars. Vaati, however, was busy looking next to him.

"I had a really good time tonight, Shadow," Vaati said, ducking his head shyly.

"I did, too, V! We should hang out more often."

"Yeah, about that . . ."

"Hm?" Shadow looked away from the sky to regard his friend with a soft smile.

Vaati was gripping the steps with white-knuckled fingers. "Shadow . . . You're a really nice person."

"Aw, come on, V!" Shadow tapped his shoulder lightly.

"I went to the doctor today."

Shadow became serious and put a hand on Vaati's back. "Yeah?"

"Yeah . . . we're hoping my other eye is stronger, but . . . I might not be able to see anything in three years."

"Holy cow." Shadow hugged him. "That's horrible, V. I'm so sorry."

Vaati wiped his eyes and chuckled resignedly. "Y-yeah. I really hate . . . I don't like having one eye, one that can barely see as it is, but that's better than . . . _nothing_."

"Is there anything I can do to make it easier? I know that sounds really dumb, but jeez Vaati, your eyesight."

"Actually," interrupted Vaati. "There is something."

"Anything. You name it."

Vaati turned his head slightly toward Shadow. "Well . . . I may not be able to see anything soon, and I'd really like to see your face. Up close. So I won't forget it? Like really close because . . . my eye is really bad."

Grinning, Shadow bumped his forehead against Vaati's. "How's this?"

Vaati smiled up at him. "That's fine."

Shadow then pushed their noses together. "How about this?"

Vaati giggled. Then Shadow let go and let Vaati gaze over every corner of his face, less than an inch away. "Wow . . ." Vaati said, admiring each long eyelash, each line, even the pores and the specific way his eyebrows grew in a bushy but defined angle. He moved Shadow's face to every side, inspected his nose, his ears, his lips and cheeks, pressed the lines out of his forehead, and gazed into his eyes. His eyes. Vaati kept returning to Shadow's eyes, staring into each of them for long periods of time. Shadow didn't complain even a little as Vaati took his time. He trailed a finger down Shadow's nose, and then paused it on his lips. They were so perfect, and soon he may be unable to see them. That perfect alabaster skin and those gorgeous expressions. The way Shadow could make him smile with only a glance, make him laugh with a simple wag of his eyebrows. He may never get to see Shadow's face like this again. Or see him at all. Any of him. He could feel Shadow's breath on his face. "Shadow . . ." His hand slid back behind Shadow's head and he pulled, closing the distance between them.

Shadow pushed him away. "Wait! Vaati?"

They scooted away from each other. "I'm sorry," Vaati uttered quickly.

"It's okay," Shadow replied, still obviously shocked. "It's okay, Vaati, it's really okay." He paused to regain his wits, then said in a gentle voice, "I don't feel the same way."

Vaati bit his lower lip. "Thank you for telling me," he answered quietly.

Shadow scooted over and put a hand on his knee. "I'm really sorry—"

"It's okay." Vaati wrung his hands. Shadow tried to look into his face, obviously upset that Vaati was suddenly so unhappy, and upset there wasn't anything he could do except lie about it, and obviously that was not an option. Vaati forced himself to look at Shadow and smile. "But we can still be friends, right?"

Shadow grinned in relief. "Of course! I'm so glad to know you, Vaati." He wrapped his arms around Vaati and held him tightly. "And I wish . . ." He struggled.

"Don't say it."

"Okay. I won't." He waited a moment, then with a smirk, he bit Vaati's ear.

" _Hey!_ "

Shadow giggled.

Vaati reached for him with claw hands, shoving them into Shadow's belly. Shadow cried out as he fell over and Vaati tickled him mercilessly.

"Vaati, _Vaati!_ " Shadow begged, and Vaati paused. "It isn't that I don't like you," Shadow said. "I'm only fourteen. I don't think I'm ready to start dating, you know? It freaks me out, dude, honestly, all that mushy gushy stuff. It sort of scares me. I can't believe you're already thinking about it."

 _Oh I'm not just thinking about it_ , Vaati smirked to himself. He hadn't been "just thinking about it" for a couple years. "Thanks, Shadow. That's good to know. I'll wait for you, but only after I've tickled you to death!"

"ACK!"

* * *

As Link and Zelda waited outside for the limo, Link felt he had to say _something_. "I'm sorry I flaked out."

"Hm?" Zelda broke out of whatever thoughts she'd been having. "Yeah, what was that about? You won't even hold my hand."

Link blushed. "I dunno what came over me. I just . . . suddenly got really uncomfortable." That wasn't entirely true. He wasn't "uncomfortable," per se, in fact upon looking back, it had actually felt rather nice. The bad part was that it was _Zelda_ , not that she was bad or . . . or _unattractive_ or anything, just . . . she was his _friend_. It's not like he'd ever had those feelings before. So why now all of a sudden?

The limo pulled up to the curb in front of them. "Well are you fine _now?_ " Zelda asked.

Link didn't reply.

Zelda sighed and climbed into the limo, a frustrated look on her face. She sat grumpily on one side of the limo, and Link sat morosely on the other side. As the limo started off, Link decided there was nothing else for it, and opened his mouth. "I think I have a crush on you."

Zelda stared blankly at him for a moment. Then blinked and shook her head. "Wait, what?"

Link shrugged, with a tiny smile. It didn't feel so bad saying it out loud. "You're really beautiful tonight, that's all." He scratched the back of his head and chuckled. "I guess it was just, you know, unexpected. Not that you're ugly every other day!" he added hurriedly. "Something was different tonight."

Zelda's face became suddenly emotional, but at first she said nothing.

"What's wrong?" Link asked honestly. "Should I have kept quiet?"

Zelda's eyes glassed over, then she wiped the wetness out of them and said, "No. There's . . . something I need to tell you. About me." She took his hand in both of hers. "But not in here. When we get home. Okay?"

"Okay . . ."

* * *

"You're a guy?" Link asked dumbly. His eyes glanced over her well-fitted dress, restarting the butterflies in his stomach. He took a step back and laughed, unable to help himself. "No you're not."

Zelda heaved a sigh, but there was no mockery or malice in Link's laugh. It was actually kind of cute how mind blown he was. "Yes, I know I don't look like it, but . . . I've felt this way my entire life. I've always dreaded, you know, boys looking at me the way you are right now."

Link flushed and averted his eyes. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. It's not actually as bad, since you're actually into guys and all."

"What?!" Link's head shot up. "What do you mean I'm into—"

Zelda was smirking at him knowingly.

"—into, ah," he again scratched his head sheepishly. "I guess I am. How can I be into both?"

"Well, why not?"

"But I don't want to have a boyfriend AND a girlfriend."

"Well that's okay, it's not like I want to have a boyfriend or girlfriend or, well, I don't even know! The point is . . . I wouldn't worry about it. Lots of people are attracted to more than one person, you know, but they still only marry one other person, so if that's your thing, then . . . I say see what happens."

". . . You really think so?"

"Yeah." She waggled her eyebrows. "Maybe take that Shad guy out on a date."

Now Link blushed furiously. "Oooooh, I dunnooooooo."

"If you don't ask him, I will do it for you."

"What! No, I can do it myself!"

Zelda laughed at his offended expression.

"That just seems so weird to me, dating a . . . a guy."

"Does it feel alright?"

Link grinned. "Yeah, yeah, it kinda does."

"Well there ya go! Just . . . don't get all weird on me, okay? I'm not a lady, don't go all gaga on the junk in my trunk." She made a general gesture toward her whole body.

Link coughed. "Yeah, I won't. Or, I'll try, anyway. You ARE really pretty for a . . ." his mouth quirked, "a guy." He burst into laughing, and this time Zelda joined him.


	9. Chapter 9

AN: Thanks for reading this far! And for the reviews! XOXO

* * *

Vaati was having a very nice dream. In it, he and Shadow were . . . yeeeah, that was embarrassing . . . but not really. A dream is only a dream after all. He opened his eyes, and a gentle smile crossed his lips. He and Shadow had fallen asleep in Shadow's bedroom, facing each other on his bed. Shadow was sleeping peacefully, and Vaati watched his chest rise and fall, listening to his slow breathing, lips parted slightly.

Vaati rolled over and checked the clock. Morning. Well, he'd be in trouble for not showing back up at the academy dorms after the dance. He shrugged and went back to lazily watching Shadow sleep. No clue whether it was a few minutes or an hour before Shadow's eyes fluttered open. He smiled at Vaati, then raised his arms overhead to stretch. "This reminds me of school."

"Yeah, back when you and I went to the _same school_."

Shadow sighed, but chuckled right after. "You're never letting that go, are you?"

Vaati's smile widened slyly. " _Never_."

"How are you doing, anyway? Have you gotten used to sleeping alone?"

"No." Vaati grimaced. "I'll never understand how Hyruleans can STAND sleeping alone! Or wear so many useless garments." At this he pulled the constricting school tie he'd left abandoned on a pile of jeans. He gave Shadow a long, drawn face and big eyes. "Nobody's as friendly as you."

"I'm sorry."

Vaati stuck his tongue out at him.

Shadow made to sit up, but Vaati put a hand on his chest and pushed him back down. "No, not yet!" He wrapped his arms around Shadow's torso and snuggled against his chest, humming contentedly. "I don't want to go back yet."

This made Shadow smirk. "I have to go to the _bathroom_."

Vaati pouted. "Promise you'll come back?"

"Yeah, promise."

Vaati let him go. Shadow made a quick trip to the bathroom, and when he came out, he waved his cell phone and shouted, "Hey! Zelda and Link want to meet you. You should totally come with!"

Vaati sat up and shook his head. "I'm already gonna be in a lot of trouble for falling asleep and being out past curfew. I'd better get back . . . soon," he added. He really was in no hurry.

Shadow began changing out of last night's clothes and into a comfortable pair of jeans. Vaati frowned sadly. Apparently Shadow had forgotten his earlier promise . . . well, it was early, and it's not like their promises ever actually meant anything. But today it just . . . he would have liked . . .

Shadow was staring at him. "Are you going to be okay?"

Vaati forced a happy face. "I'll be fine. Don't worry."

Shadow didn't look convinced, but he didn't say anything and continued putting on his 'Save the Chu-Chus, Stop the Slaughter' T-shirt.

Vaati clambered off the pile of bed and walked over to Shadow, who was brushing his hair roughly. Vaati wrapped his arms around Shadow's waist again. "I miss you."

"I miss you too, V."

"Do you think you could . . . call me once in a while?"

"But V, we already chat every night and morning and text and stuff."

"I know, but . . . I'd like to hear your voice. Is that okay?"

Shadow was really getting worried about his friend. "Yeah. Yeah, okay. I will."

". . . Promise?" Vaati asked hesitantly, hugging him slightly tighter.

"Else a lizard in my eye. I promise, Vaati."

"Okay, good." But he didn't really believe it. He was being replaced, wasn't he? By these . . . friends of Shadow's. Link and Zelda. What if Shadow met another boy-no. Shadow had said he wasn't into that sort of thing right now, Vaati should at least _try_ to respect that.

A troubled look crossed Shadow's face. He set the brush down. He seemed to know what Vaati was thinking, and felt pretty bad about it. "Tell you what," he said. "Next week I'll sneak into your dorm room. I think my key card still works."

Vaati brightened slightly. Just slightly. "Really?"

"Yeah. Dad won't even know I'm missing."

"But it's so far . . ."

"Not really, not if I skateboard fast anyway."

Vaati threw his arms around Shadow's neck. "Oh, thank you, Shadow! That makes me feel much much better!"

Shadow hugged him back, and when they pulled apart, he planted a kiss on Vaati's cheek. Vaati rubbed the spot wonderingly, a ghost of a smile finally appearing back on his face. "Figured that'd make you happy!" Shadow exclaimed. He took Vaati's hand and led him out of the room and to the kitchen for breakfast. Vaati beamed.

* * *

"Aaaaaaaugh!" Sheik flopped onto the lunch table, staring at the official-looking piece of paper in his hand.

"What's the problem, Sheik?" Shadow asked, sitting next to him.

"Ooooi." Sheik put a hand on his forehead. "My parents want me to sing the Ballad of the Goddess this coming Worship Day at our annual celebration. I have to get up in a stupid ancient dress and look all pretty and _ancient_ in front of everybody. And sing that stupid old song. I mean, it's pretty and all, but it's sung at literally _every party_. It's not even the national anthem! Sheesh!"

"Parents are super religious, huh?" Shadow opened his container of vegetables and mini bag of Rabbitland bread snacks.

"Well, me too," Sheik replied, "but not in the same way."

Shadow glanced at his friend in surprise. "You're religious?"

"Well, _yeah_ , you don't really get to be Destiny's Prince without also having some _pretty up close_ encounters with the spiritual side of Hyrule."

"Wow, I never would have guessed. So, like, what would you RATHER sing?"

"Something by my favorite temple rock bands, the Sages of Enlightenment, or SiGURD. You know, one of those religious rock bands."

"Like . . . ' _praise the Goddesses, hands in miiiiyiiine!'_ "

Sheik snickered at the purposely less-than-stellar performance. "Tell you what, you can come over to my place after school today and I'll let you listen to my beats. Okay?"

"Ah-hah." Shadow placed a bread snack on his tongue and pulled it into his mouth. "This should prove interesting . . . Oh, here comes Link. Put on your pretty face!"

"Nah, it's okay."

Shadow blinked. "Really?"

"Yeah, I told him at the dance. He's cool with it."

A bright grin spread across Shadow's face. "Sweet! All that lying was kinda driving me mad . . ."

Sheik smiled. "Thanks, though, I really appreciate it."

Link walked up just then. "Oh hey, uh . . . bros!"

Sheik grinned triumphantly.

"Come join us, bro," Shadow said, leaning back and gesturing languidly with a hand.

"I'd love to, bro," Link replied as he sat across from them.

"How are ya, bro?" Sheik asked.

"Fine, bro. How 'bout you?"

"Broooooooolicious!"

* * *

Shadow pulled the heavy, wood-styled headphones off his head. "Nnnnope! I just don't get the appeal."

"Aaaaw, how can you NOT?!" Sheik cried. "Can't you _feel them?_ " He straightened with his hands in the air and spun in a circle. "They give me goosebumps and I'M NOT EVEN LISTENING!"

Shadow chuckled. "Well, I respect your tastes, but they give me the creeps, honestly."

Sheik snatched the headphones away. "Oh, boo. Oh well. How about you, Link?"

Link shook his head. "No thanks. I'd rather not listen."

"Well that sucks."

"Why?"

Sheik shrugged his shoulders. "Well . . . I kind of wanted to sing one of these songs at the talent show."

Both Shadow and Link opened their mouths, but Sheik interrupted them, "I know it's not what you want or anything, and I don't think there's a point if you don't like the songs anyway." He shrugged again, fiddling with the CD case in his hands. "Mom and Dad never let me express my religion the way I want to. They think this stuff is the work of Demise. Someday I'd like to sing these songs on a stage and prove them wrong, you know?"

Shadow and Link glanced at one another. "We can only play, like, one or two songs," Shadow said.

"Yeah," Link agreed reluctantly.

"Guys," Sheik sighed, "if you're uncomfortable singing a religious song, you CAN tell me."

Shadow and Link relaxed, relieved. "It really makes me uncomfortable," Shadow admitted. "I can't sing something I don't believe, ya know? The music's good, it's just the words don't jive with me and I can't trust them."

Sheik nodded. He DID understand.

"Religion gives me the willies," Link stated, looking like he really did have a case of the willies. "Grandma believes in it I guess, but I just can't understand the need for . . . well . . . I don't get it."

Sheik smirked and wrapped his arms around both of them. "Okay, in that case, who wants to help me sabotage this stupid Worship Day masquerade?"

Shadow and Link gave evil smiles, and Shadow said, " _That_ I can do!"

* * *

Romani finished folding another paper crane for Aryll's bottle. Once the young girl got an idea in her head, it was near impossible to get her off of it. They had been folding tiny paper cranes all day and fitting them through the slim neck of the bottle. Aryll liked the way they sounded when you shook the bottle. She also liked precision, and would make Romani refold a crane if it wasn't done perfectly.

Luckily, Romani had a lot of practice doing origami. There hadn't been much to do on her home ranch. The internet was spotty more often than not, and the TV rarely worked, so she'd busied herself with crafts and learning the time-honored and painful value of patience.

Aryll was folding a crane while jumping across the room, something Romani found incredible. Suddenly she finished folding, stuffed her new crane into the bottle and then stood in front of Romani, staring at her skirt. Romani set down her half-finished crane. "Do you really want to try again?" she asked, leaning forward.

Aryll took in a deep breath, let it go, and then shot her hand forward, as if to shake Romani's. Carefully, Romani reached her own hand out and placed it in Aryll's. The little girl cringed, but gripped her hand tightly.

She had been doing this a lot lately. In between each crane today. She was determined to learn to shake people's hands, and to look them in the face. Every day she'd practice until her big brother came home, and she would attempt to shake his hand and look him in the face. Romani thought the effort was commendable, but wondered if it was actually healthy . . . it was kind of interrupting her other studies, but then, if this is what Aryll was willing to work on, Romani would do her best to support her.

"I'm hooooooome!" A familiar call accompanied the front door opening.

Aryll let go of Romani's hand immediately and ran to the entry. "Link! Link! Link!"

"Aryll! Aryll! Aryll!"

Romani smiled. It was touching how much Link cared for his younger sister. Most families cared for their special needs children, but Link somehow seemed genuinely happier every time he saw Aryll. He wore out just like everybody else, especially at the end of the day after a long day at school, but he always stayed until Romani made him go take a break or do his homework. He fought her every time. Ignored her often. Eventually she always got her way. Then Mrs. Knight would finish making dinner and Romani would say goodbye to the little family.

It wasn't a one-sided love, however. Romani knew Aryll tried so hard to shake hands because she knew somehow that Link would like that. One time Link had come home especially exhausted and had fallen asleep on the couch. Aryll had patted his back like he was a cat, then grabbed a blanket and covered him with it and gone back to playing. Like many autistic children, Aryll had difficulty focusing on anything for very long, but when it came to her beloved brother, she focused as hard as she could.

And yet, so far, she hadn't tried to shake Link's hand.

* * *

Shadow scrolled blindly past the search results on the school computer. He couldn't even see the letters anymore.

Wait, when had his eyes teared up?

Of course he couldn't just stop caring, even if he had gotten purple hair. He HAD to know who his twin was. And he started by learning about in vitro fertilization, the method his parents used to conceive him. After reading about it, he wished he'd been happy with the purple hair . . .

It was something most kids wished for one time or another, but now that it was actually _real_ , Shadow was . . .

Devastated.

* * *

Ganondorf sat sipping a fruity beverage in the living room. He glanced at his son's new bedroom door. Shadow had been awfully quiet in there. When he finished his drink, he stood and walked into the kitchen to put his cup in the sink.

"Dad?" A timid voice caused him to turn around.

Shadow had left his room, and was staring at the floor at the edge of the kitchen, shirt gripped tightly in his hands.

"What is it, Shadow?"

Shadow's face was torn. "Are you not my real dad?"

Alarms sounded off in Ganondorf's head. "What makes you ask that?"

"I was looking up in vitro, and either you couldn't have kids or Mom couldn't and there had to be a sperm or egg donor, and I look just like Mom, so . . ." He glanced up brokenly. "Am I not related to you?"

Ganondorf sighed. "Not biologically, no. Legally, yes."

The news, although expected, seemed to hit Shadow like a brick. He nodded, "Oh," before suddenly his entire frame crumbled with sobs. "But then, who's my . . . my . . . my _other_ dad?"

"He's not your father. He was just a donor." Ganondorf walked over and put his hands on Shadow's shoulders to steady him. "Do you remember that I was a foster child?"

Shadow nodded.

"Then you should know blood means little to me. You are my son, and that is all that matters."

Almost too quiet for Ganondorf to hear, Shadow said, "I wish I wasn't."

"What?"

Shadow shoved Ganondorf's arms aside and ran to his room. "I said _I wish I wasn't!_ "

SSS

The next day, in History, Sheik leaned over to Link and whispered, "What's eating Shadow?"

"Huh?"

"At lunch. He was miserable!"

"Oh, yeah, he was, wasn't he? Man, I dunno. I've never actually seen him _sad_."

Sheik's eyes narrowed. "You know, Shadow's really good at getting people to reveal their secrets, but he's not very good at revealing his own."

"You think he's hiding something?"

"Definitely."

* * *

"Ooooooh Shaaaaaadoooooow!" Sheik pattered up to him at the end of school.

Shadow turned to him, face despondent, barely even noticing Sheik was there.

"How are ya, Shadow?"

"I'm good."

Sheik nodded, pretending he believed the lie. "Link and I found a vegan ice cream joint. I guess they use coconut milk." He waggled his eyebrows. "What say I take two seconds to change out of these girly clothes and we all go get food together?"

"Oh . . . I don't—"

"Hey Shadow!" Link bounced cheerfully up to him from the opposite side. "You wanna get ice cream?"

Shadow glanced from one to the other. "Huh? I don't—"

Sheik stepped closer, and Shadow backed off, only to find Link had put a hand on his shoulder to hold him in place. "G-Guys?"

The glint in Sheik and Link's eyes was extremely creepy. "We're getting ice cream," they said in sync.

Shadow gulped. "I think I might want to change my mind about being religious. You guys are creepy!"

* * *

"You actually _told_ him that?!" Sheik exclaimed.

"Yeah . . . I didn't mean it," Shadow answered. "At least . . ." his voice lowered, "I don't think I did."

"I mean, you're dad sucks, no joke, but . . . man, that was harsh, don't you think? My parents would FREAK if they knew I was a guy, but I'd never wish to not be their kid. Is your dad just that horrible?"

Shadow shook his head. "No! I mean, I dunno! How many dads do I know?"

"Why'd you say it again?" Link asked.

"I was angry, or maybe . . . I dunno, I was kind of . . feeling crazy." He wasn't good at expressing his feelings. Usually he was the one _listening_ , not the other way around. "He does tests on animals, horrible ones. And when he's done with them, he just _kills them_."

"That must be really hard for you."

"You wouldn't get it!" Shadow snapped, taking his friends by surprise. "You EAT animals."

"Holy Triforce," Link said, getting a disapproving look from Sheik, "You're really upset."

Shadow practically slammed his bowl of ice cream on the counter. "He's _not_ my dad!"

"Now, Shadow—"

"HE ISN'T!"

Link shut up.

Shadow bit his lip and tried to calm his racing heart before continuing. "I'm not biologically his. He couldn't have kids."

Sheik and Link gaped, jaws on the table.

"Whoa, you're adopted?" Sheik exclaimed.

"Not exactly." Shadow gave them the gist of it. "I'm just mad because he didn't tell me! All this time I thought he was . . . and then he wasn't, and then my biological mom had to go and _die_ giving birth to me! I HATE IT!" He threw his bowl on the ground, where it crashed and spilled the dregs of Shadow's ice cream. "I'm just some kind of screw up! Like why does he even keep me around? I'm a vegan and it's obvious I hate him!"

Link paid for the damages, and he and Sheik shepherded Shadow out of the shop. They walked on either side of him, arms around him.

"I don't wanna go home," Shadow stated.

"Okay, what about Link's place?"

". . . Okay. Actually, yes I do. I DO want to go home!"

"Uh, a'ight then."

* * *

When they got to Shadow's home, Shadow rushed ahead of them as if he were on a mission. They followed him to his room—luckily Ganondorf was not at home. Shadow burrowed a familiar path through his haphazard bed covers until he reached a nightstand, from which he pulled a pictograph. "Wanna see a pic of my mom?" He held it out to them.

Curious, Sheik and Link climbed onto the bed and looked at it. "Ooh, pretty," Sheik commented.

"Right? Ain't she a _babe?_ "

"You look just like her! Especially now with your purple hair."

"Aaw, thanks! What about you, Link? Don't you think she's cool? She looks like she could kick Dad's butt!"

Something had stirred inside Link. He didn't know what it was, but there was something familiar about the woman. It was like he had a connection to her that he'd never felt with his own mother, but he couldn't understand why. "She looks very nice."

"I'll bet she was REALLY nice!" Shadow took the pictograph away from them so he could stare at it. "I bet she NEVER hurt animals!"

"I'm sorry she's dead," Sheik said.

"I just wish I'd known her."

"No you don't," Link whispered.

Shadow glanced at him. "Why not?"

Link looked like he hadn't even realized what he'd said out loud until just then. "I . . . I didn't mean that!"

"So? Why'd you say it?"

"Sometimes I wish . . . I wish I hadn't known my parents. I wish they'd died a lot sooner, because then maybe it wouldn't hurt so much that they're gone." He frowned. "I'm disgusting, aren't I?"

This time it was Shadow and Sheik's turn to glance at each other. Sheik shook his head. _Way out of my league here. My parents are still alive!_ So Shadow said, "No, you're not. I wished my dad wasn't my dad, that's just about as bad, isn't it?"

A little of the self disgust left Link's face. "I guess so."

"So either we're both disgusting or we're just . . . really hurt. I miss my mom and I don't even know who she was."

"It sucks," Link agreed.

Shadow suddenly had an idea. "Do you have pictovids of your parents?"

"Um . . . I dunno. We didn't do that much, maybe some family photos . . ." Then he brightened. "Oh! I remember Grandma saying she recorded Mom on her birthdays. Maybe Grandma has some vids from when Mom was little!" He grinned wistfully. "Or maybe a teenager."

"I showed you my mom," Shadow said, "We should _totally_ go to your house after we're done and check out YOUR mom!"

"Ew, stop making that sound creepy!"

"Oh come on, you're mom's GOTTA be pretty! She HAS to be!"

"Shaaaadaaaaaap! And what do you mean 'after we're done'?"

Shadow gave a sly grin. "Well, I've got pictovids, too. But we might have to break into my dad's office . . ." After the last fiasco, Ganondorf had confiscated the tape about Shadow's first ultrasound, the one where he found out about his twin.

"OOOOOH NOOOOOO," Sheik yelled, standing up on the bed. "The LAST thing I need is to get banked for breaking and entering!"

"Oh come on, Dad wouldn't press charges against my friends."

"Your dad tortures _animals_."

". . . Good point." He put his mother's pic away. "But believe me, after you found out what this tape has, you'll be _glad_ you snuck into Dad's office!"

They couldn't very well pass up on that, now could they?


	10. Chapter 10

Suggested Soundtrack: Mission Impossible Theme. Like, any of them.

Thank you for the revieeews! XOXO I'm feeling better but still kinda sick.

* * *

"You're WHAT?!"

Shadow grinned, knowing Vaati could feel it through the air waves of their cellphones. "We're breaking into my dad's office!"

"Buh-buh wuuuu-what do you need ME for?"

"Oh come on, V! You're always sneaking into the older boys' dormitories. You're an expert at this!"

"Oooooh, alright, but I don't think it's a good idea, Sha-Sha."

"Great! See you when you get here!"

* * *

A crouching figure appeared in the corridor, face covered in mummy-like bandages. The figure took a tai-chi pose. "All clear!" Sheik said.

Nigh invisible except for his ghostly face, Vaati appeared next, stepping lightly behind the ninja. Then came Shadow, his eyes glowing in the dark, and finally Link, looking for all the world like a green target in a purple sea. Shadow glowered at him as he lumbered languidly over to them. "You really should be wearing some of _my clothes_."

Link shrugged, too polite to say, "No way am I EVER wearing YOUR clothes!" "So," he said out loud. "Where's your dad's office, anyhow?"

"Well, the main one is on the first floor, but I already checked it. No tape, which means he must have hid it in his _other_ office, the super secret one on the _bottom floor_."

Sheik shivered visibly. "Why do I suddenly feel like we're entering some kind of haunted house?"

Shadow looked at him grimly, thinking of all the tortured and murdered animals. "Because it is." He stepped up to the door at the end of the corridor, the others stepping beside him to regard it.

"How to we get to the lowest floor?" Sheik asked.

"Well, the first basement's pretty easy, just follow my lead around the alarms, and the second's more tricky, so we'll have to move some boxes and hack some computers and stuff—don't worry, I've done it before." He heaved a great breath in and out. "Then there's the third floor."

"What's on the third floor?" Link asked curiously.

"I don't know. I've never gone down that far."

"That's it," Vaati exclaimed, sending a pleading glance to the ceiling. "We are SO failing right now!"

Shadow flashed him a grin and a thumbs up. "Don't worry! I got your back!"

Vaati flushed. "O-okay."

* * *

Vaati held up the rear as they moved through the hallways, Shadow in the lead. He was trying to focus, but couldn't help regard Link and Sheik with a sort of vindictive curiosity. _So Shadow likes blonds?I never would have guessed_.

"Careful!" Sheik hissed, and Vaati paused just in time. He had almost triggered an alarm. He limbo-d under it cautiously and joined the others at a door with a chained window. "What's in there?"

"Best not look," Shadow said. "I can't stand to look in there. I can't free them because Dad'll just kill them with his remote control thing. I don't want to see their suffering."

Sheik couldn't help but satisfy his curiosity, however. Was Ganondorf really as horrific as Shadow had painted him? The others were moving ahead, however, so he only spared a glance. There were tables, and empty cages, some broken and misshapen as though whatever was inside forced its way out. On the ground were very disturbing dark stains. As they walked and dodged alarms, they passed many other such rooms. Some were illuminated, most were pitch black. Sheik saw a few animals, but they didn't really seem . . . _alive_. He could sense some sort of dark magic from them.

He had a sinking feeling in his stomach.

Shadow opened a door in the wall, which revealed stairs leading down below.

"Doesn't your dad have an elevator?" Sheik asked grumpily. "Like a proper villain?"

"We can't use it. Any power use of that size will trigger alarms."

"Dang . . ."

The second level took more thought, but as Shadow had said, he knew how to get through it, and with the help of his friends it was a lot faster. This level was made of a dozen rooms with computers and strange metal equipment. There was absolute silence aside from the humming of computers lodged in the walls. Desks and file cabinets ruled the walls, strange chemistry symbols and math on any papers left out. None of them understood any of it. The closer they got to the next flight of stairs, the creepier the papers became. At first they were just text, describing functions of long words which they soon discovered were the names of various body parts and functions of hundreds of animals. The descriptions were highly detailed, mentioning differences in pain tolerance and reception to chemicals, some from food and some injected. Sheik's stomach turned.

That's how it started. Soon there were x ray photos, and MRI images, of animals—terribly ma;formed ones. A five-legged rat, a two-headed snake, what looked suspiciously like a mutant Deku Baba, its petals slashed into seven sections. "Where . . . where does he keep the animals?" Sheik asked, motioning around the quiet level.

"Oh, they're around," Shadow replied. "They tend to not want attention, though." He glanced into an empty room that held a large cage meant to be an aerie. His heart hurt as he remembered the tracking keese he'd released, only for them to die horribly anyway. They'd been in this room.

"Wh-what was that?!" Sheik grabbed Shadow's arm.

"What?"

"I heard something."

Link nodded, looking unperturbed. "I did, too."

"Do animals . . ." Sheik began, "Ever . . . _get out?_ "

Shadow blinked. "Sometimes."

Sheik looked from Link to Shadow, about to blow a fuse in panic. "How can you be so calm?!" he hissed.

The two other boys shrugged.

"Hey," Link noted, "Where's Vaati?"

"He was right behind us."

"I guess we have to go look for him."

They walked into the nearest room to find Vaati cowering on the floor. "Ho-o-o-ly Sages of Hyrule!"

The others crowded around him, but Sheik soon found himself turning to stare into a dark corner of the room.

"What happened?" Shadow asked Vaati.

"It was there! Can't you feel it?"

Sheik didn't like that corner. There was something _wrong_ with that corner. He saw nothing, but knew that corner just _should not exist_.

Something scurried past the door, and Link's ears perked, eyes alert. "Yeah . . . yeah, I feel it."

Vaati shivered. "Let's get out of here."

Shadow sighed. "Oh come on! Dad always keeps dangerous animals under SUPER lock and key. They don't get out. It's probably just a spider keese or a non-gelatinous chu-chu."

"Why does that make me feel _less_ relaxed?"

"Let's just get to the third floor, okay? We'll be fine, promise."

Link was sticking his head out the door, looking up and down the hallway outside. Sheik risked glancing away from the corner, but a flicker caught his eye and he ripped his eyes back to it. "What IS that?!"

"I told you this place is haunted," Shadow said simply. "You're the Prince of Destiny and all, so you can probably feel their souls trapped down here." He nudged Vaati's foot. "Dunno why you can feel them, though."

"You live," Sheik tried to form words around the rising creep in his body, "on top of this stuff? D-don't you get nightmares?"

"Sometimes." Shadow helped Vaati up. They made to go out the door, but Link had leaned back again, staying in the doorway, blocking their way.

"There's something in here, and it's not a ghost," he explained.

Vaati clutched Shadow's arm, and Sheik whimpered.

Shadow tried to keep everyone calm. "W-we've come this far already, we may as well keep going."

As if they had agreed on this setup, Shadow took the lead, Vaati and Sheik huddled together in the middle, and Link glanced around alertly behind them, ears pricked for any sounds.

When they reached the door to the next level, they were met with a complicated lock system. "This is what stopped me before," Shadow explained. The door handle was encased in some kind of mini computer with a lit-up touch screen. "I couldn't figure out how to work it without setting off the alarm."

"Is there a password?" Link asked.

"No idea. It's like you have to move it around to activate it, first. I tried moving it, but when it beeped at me three times the alarms went off and, well . . . Dad caught me."

As if it were the most natural thing in the world to do, Link grabbed the strange handle and began searching for cracks and buttons. His fingers traced lines. "Hmm," he considered, before suddenly making three swift motions, one pushing a secret button, one turning a secret wheel, and one pulling the handle's lever out. The door made a harsh clicking noise, and the screen lit up.

"Wow," Shadow said, impressed.

"I like puzzles," Link stated with a dorky grin. "Um . . . so what would your dad use as a password?"

Shadow considered. "Try Hilda."

"Uh . . . I don't know these letters."

Vaati leaned in close. "They're ancient Hylian," he explained. The letters were set up in a grid. He pointed at one in particular. "There. That's an H. Wanna double check me, Sheik?"

Sheik stepped closer. "Yep. Tap that one."

Link followed the two's instructions to spell Hilda in ancient Hylian. Then pressed enter. A large click and a beep later, and they were able to open the door. "Wow, he actually used his wife's name."

"That's very insecure," Vaati noted as he and Sheik scurried into the stairway and away from the creepy, haunted second floor. The four wasted no time shutting the door behind them. The fact that there was a dead green light coming from the lights made the trip down the stairs almost creepier than if it had been dark.

When they reached the entrance to the third floor, Sheik was first to grab the handle. Then froze. "Wh-what . . ."

They all felt it this time.

"Frostbitten Deku Nuts!" Sheik swore under his breath. Even Link seemed perturbed, but not Shadow.

"It's just the animals, guys, we can do this. There's nothing to be afraid of. It's just really creepy, okay?"

After a moment, Sheik nodded tensely, and the other followed Shadow through the door.

Right away they could feel it was a bad idea. This level was only lit by a few black lights. "Ugh, I can feel the light getting sucked out of my veins!" Sheik said.

"Me too," Link said, shaky, but still firmer than Sheik's or Vaati's voices had been the last several minutes.

"Really?" Shadow asked in surprise. "I don't feel anything."

"Well, you live here," Sheik grumbled, "You're probably more used to it!"

"Well, come on. We should stick together."

Link walked behind Shadow, Sheik grabbed the hood of Link's jacket, and with his other hand, took Vaati's. After several minutes of wandering, they hadn't found the stairs to the lower floor, and had in fact gone in circles and ended where they started at least twice.

"Why didn't we bring a light?" Shadow asked.

"Um, because I can make light with my magic?"

Everyone stared at Sheik.

Sheik blushed. "I guess I should do that, then, huh?"

"Yeah."

Sheik released Vaati's hand, and a few murmured words later, and there was a small spark in Zelda's hands. Instantly it vanished.

"What happened?" Link asked.

"I . . . I dunno. My magic isn't working."

"Aaaaugh!" Shadow sighed. "So much for that, then. Doesn't even matter."

Sheik was now more scared than ever. "Guys, only bad things can make my magic not work."

"Don't be a frady cat," Shadow criticized.

"No need to be snippy. Sheesh!"

"Can I ask a question?" Link interrupted politely.

"Yes," Sheik and Shadow replied.

In a slightly higher voice than normal, Link said, "Well, I was just thinking . . . this place is so big and hard to navigate and stuff . . . why would Ganondorf put his office _way down here?_ And not have a shortcut?"

The others shared glances.

"It is REALLY weird when you're the smartest kid in the room," said Shadow. Link flushed.

"Take that back!"

"No, seriously, first the puzzle, then this? Have you been holding out on us?"

Link reddened even more. "No. I just don't always speak my mind, and it would be too complicated explaining anyway." More like, he didn't like being the center of attention, and avoided it at all costs.

"Why are you getting Ds?" Sheik asked.

"I dunno. It's harder than my old school."

"I doubt that's it."

"I get bored and lose focus."

"Okay, WELL ANYWAY," Shadow interrupted. "We've come too far to go back and search for a shortcut. Dad'll be home in a few hours. Let's keep going down."

" _No_." Sheik's voice was firm.

"Oh come on, Sheik!"

"I'm being serious, Shadow! Whatever's down here is cutting off my magic. I'm the PRINCE OF DESTINY. My magic doesn't just DISAPPEAR. It takes a fair bit of exhaustion to cause that, or else . . ." his voice fluttered, "Very dark power."

Everyone knew what he meant. Since they were children old enough to understand, they'd been told not only the story of the Triforce, the Hero, and the Princess of Destiny, but also the destructive power that opposed them: Demise. It was, hands down, the most forbidden art in the entire world.

"My dad does not do black magic!" Shadow protested angrily.

"I'm just telling you what I know!" Sheik shot back.

"Guys!" Link stepped between them. "Look, Shadow, Sheik's uncomfortable, and I don't like it down here, either. This was a bad idea and you know. We should NEVER have tried to sneak in here."

Shadow's protests were clear on his face, but he said nothing. Disappointed, his shoulders slumped. " _Fine_." He glared at Sheik. "But I still don't believe you. My dad's evil, but not THAT evil!"

"Whatever," Sheik replied, too shaken to think up a better reply.

Shadow began striding off into the dark.

Link paused to look at Sheik. "Are you okay?" he asked quietly.

Sheik pondered, then nodded.

"Okay." Link turned to follow Shadow, and Sheik grabbed his hood and reached back for Vaati's hand.

No one was there.

"Uh. Guys? Where's Vaati?"

Link doubled back. "What? Vaati!" He looked behind him. "Shadow! Shadow where are you?"

The two huddled closer together, then turned back-to-back and stared into the darkness. "W-what's going on?" Sheik stuttered.

"I don't know. Stay close, Zelda." Link wrapped an arm around Sheik, who decided under the circumstances to let the fact Link used the wrong name to slide.

A scream startled them, and they flipped around, Sheik flailing wildly, but Link kept his hand clenching Sheik's shirt tightly. His eyes stared alertly ahead. "Come on, Sheik! Try your magic again!"

They ran toward the scream. Sheik tried to start a magic light, and though he failed, every time he tried there was just barely enough light to see by so they didn't bump into things. The level just seemed to be a giant room, never ending, full of black smoke.

"VAATI!" Link yelled. "SHADOW!"

" _OVER HERE!_ "

A few seconds later they found Vaati, who was on the ground, backing away from something ahead of him. Shadow stood there, back to them, staring into the darkness. "Sh-Shadow! Get away!" Vaati shouted. "GET AWAY!"

Sheik ran to help vaati up, and Link ran up behind Shadow to see what he was staring at.

Two huge red eyes revealed themselves out of the darkness as he got closer, and the smoke around the room twisted and turned into a vaguely human-like shape, but with the joints bending the wrong way. It kept shifting like a reflection in a lake. The smoke _was_ the creature. It pulled its smoke away from the four teenagers, revealing the metal floor and ceiling and a wide space.

The whole level was a cage for this thing!

A wide, gritty toothed smile opened in the middle of its weird head. Over by Vaati, Sheik tested his magic. With the smoke retreated, it worked perfectly.

The creature suddenly shrieked and blanketed the room in smoke again, snuffing out Sheik's light. Sheik and Vaati hugged each other. Link jumped back to them, taking a wide stance in front of them, as if he could defend them from the creature.

Shadow was the only one who hadn't moved. "Hey, there, guy," he said quietly, taking a tiny step toward the creature.

The creature's smile disappeared, and seemed to regard Shadow carefully.

"You're okay," Shadow said. "See? We can't hurt you. How did you get down here? Do you want to go outside?"

The creature became mesmerized by Shadow's voice. It tilted its head.

"That's right." Shadow took another step forward, then another. "We didn't come here to do tests on you. We want the same thing you do—to get out! Can you . . . help us?"

The creature made no sign it understood. Shadow took another step forward, held out a hand—

—the creature shot forward, nearly biting Shadow's entire arm off. Shadow jumped back and retreated just in time, joining the others. The creature began making unearthly dissatisfied sounds.

"I saw the exit," Link said calmly, "Earlier when the smoke was cleared."

 _How is he so calm?!_ Shadow thought. "Do you remember where it was?" He grabbed Sheik, who was by now screaming to match Vaati.

"Yeah! Follow me! RUN!"

The four teenagers skedaddled as fast as they could through the smoke. Other forms of the creature began forming around them, trying to catch them, slash at them. They reached the door and Link kicked it open. They all ran through and tried to shut the door behind them, but the smoke was already bleeding through it like roots of a tree. They charged up the stairs and made their way through level two, completely ignoring the alarms. The whole level was illuminated in red lights, a loud blaring noise filling the air. Doors and walls began slamming down around them, bars showing up on the office doors. The teens ran faster to the exit. The door was slowly shutting. The four squeezed around it, and thankfully it shut behind them before the creature caught up. The door at the top of the stairs had sealed shut, however, and they were trapped in the stairwell.

"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Sheik shouted. "WHAT IS YOUR DAD DOING DOWN HERE?!"

Shadow panted, and simply shook his head. Shock was plain on his face. "I . . . I don't know. But it was angry."

"What needs a WHOLE LEVEL to live on?!" Vaati shrieked. "That thing was gigantic!"

Link didn't have much to say, he just panted with the others, staring at the door with a piercing, blue gaze.

There was nothing for it but to sit down and wait to be caught. The entire facility was on lock down, and there was no way they could get out on their own.

* * *

Ganondorf glared at the teenagers standing in a line on the other side of his desk in his first floor office. He had been silently staring at them for what seemed an hour, simmering rage just beneath the surface.

"We're really sorry, sir," said Sheik, trying to be diplomatic. "It won't happen again, we promise!"

"Exactly . . ." Ganondorf paused midsentence, " _what_ did you think you were doing?" Hisgaze lay on Vaati, who began to stutter. Shadow broke in.

"They were helping me free the animals."

Ganondorf stood. "What a pathetic idea. There _are_ no animals down there. Not at the moment." He walked around the desk and folded his arms.

The four shared glances, doing their best to look abashed.

"More importantly," Ganondorf continued, bending down to look Vaati right in the eye. "What did you _see?_ "The boy lowered his head, stuttering nonsense. Ganondorf moved on the Sheik, who was next.

"See?" Sheik repeated cautiously. "What do you mean?"

"I mean just what I asked. What did you see?" Sheik squirmed under his gaze before he lowered his head, as well.

Ganondorf moved on to Shadow, who was pretending Ganondorf didn't exist and was glancing around the room and bouncing on his heels. He didn't reply.

"It's just as you said, sir," Link broke in. "There _were_ no animals."

Squinting his eyes, Ganondorf straightened and stepped in front of Link, glaring down at him.

Link held his gaze, a look or ferocity in his eyes, although his face was calm. He stood straight, head held high. Ganondorf glared for a minute or two, but Link would not back down. Ganondorf raised an eyebrow before returning to his seat behind the desk. "Well, you're certainly lucky," he said. "There were no damages. If there had been, I'd have to report this to the police. As it is, I think I'll just have to settle with banning you all from my house from henceforth."

"What?!" Sheik, Link, and Vaati all shouted.

"Be grateful I don't tell your parents! And Shadow? You're grounded."

"Aaaah, not again, Dad!"

"You deserve it!"

* * *

"Of course he didn't report it to the police!" Sheik exclaimed when they left the house, aside from Shadow, who was locked in his room. Sheik was fuming. "He doesn't want anybody to know what's down there!"

"What _is_ down there?" Link asked ponderously.

"I dunno, but I'm not just gonna sit around about it!" He turned to Vaati, who hadn't said a word since they'd been caught. "Are you okay? How are you getting home?"

"I'll call a taxi," replied the ashen Vaati. A look of . . . fear crossed his face. "How long do you think Shadow will be grounded for?"

"No idea. The last time he was grounded for two weeks. This time, who knows."

Vaati seemed extremely nervous. "That means I won't get to talk with him for a long time."

"You two are really good friends, huh?" Sheik asked curiously. "I wouldn't worry."

"Yeah, I know, just . . . uh, see you later! Maybe." Vaati scurried off.

"That was weird," Sheik noted. Link just nodded. "Do you wanna go to my house to research black smoke?"

This time Link shook his head. "No, I should go home and check on Aryll. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"A'ight."

Link wasn't sure why, but he had a really bad feeling. He'd never been in such a dangerous situation before, and there was just a strong feeling of _wrongness_. Not about sneaking into a place they shouldn't have. He felt that guilt, too, but this other feeling was different. Worse. Mostly he was suddenly very worried about Shadow, and what his dad might be up to. Would Shadow get into trouble?

His thoughts went back to the third level. The others had been so scared, even Shadow. Why hadn't Link been scared? Well, like, he _was_ , but it didn't seem to affect him physically like it had the others.

"Link!" Granny exclaimed when he appeared. "Where've you been? It's almost seven!"

Link stopped and looked at her, saying nothing. Granny noticed the strange look in his eyes, but thought it best to not mention anything. Link said hello to Aryll, who was doing fine and already in bed, then went into his own room and shut the door.


	11. Chapter 11

AN: No suggested soundtrack this week =.= Sorry I've been kind of aloof (I think I have been anyway)

Thanks for the favorites/follows/reviews, everything. You readers are awesome and I love you : 3

* * *

It was a whole two weeks before Shadow was allowed internet access, but he was still grounded.

 _iluvpigz26: y dos Dad ground me, neway? its not like its ever worked_

 _W1nds0rc3r3r:hahaha mayB he wnts u out of hs hair?_

 _iluvpigz26: :P_

 _iluvpigz26:hey dad sed I can fnly have visitors on Sat u wan2 come?_

 _W1nds0rc3r3r: no I am going out w giri :3_

 _iluvpigz26: who iz this giri and y is he more important than m3?_

 _W1nds0rc3r3r: Just a boy I met at school 3_

 _iluvpigz26: My 3 just broke_

 _W1nds0rc3r3r: :P u sed u wernt interested_

 _iluvpigz26:lol im kidding wats he like?_

 _W1nds0rc3r3r: hes_

 _iluvpigz26:yes?_

 _W1nds0rc3r3r: its a secret }:)_

 _iluvpigz26:oooooo mysterious_

 _W1nds0rc3r3r: ok gtg ttyl_

 _iluvpigz26:. . ._

 _iluvpigz26:bye_

SSS

Link sat in the waiting room of the doctor's office for his physical. In order to do what Shad did, he had to be given the a-okay by his doctor. The bespectacled man with the triangle beard gave Link the willies. His appointment was in the afternoon, so he didn't even get time off school . . .

The building's doors opened and none other than Shadow walked in. He spotted Link and grinned, sitting down next him. "What's up!"

"Not much. Just a check up. You?"

"Oh. Regular checkup, yeah."

There was something odd about Shadow at the moment. He seemed . . . paler than usual. It took Link several moments to figure out why. "Your fingerless gloves. You're not wearing them today?" Now that he thought about it, he'd NEVER seen Shadow without his gloves. His eyes wandered over the suddenly exposed limbs. The skin was mottled, and in some places scarred.

Shadow turned his hands around so Link could see his palms and how they, too, were scarred. "That's why I'm here," Shadow said. "I got burned badly a few years ago. Got some skin grafts and such, so now the doctor's just checking me every few months to make sure everything's okay. I don't really like how they look, so I wear the gloves to avoid questions."

"What the heck happened?"

Biting his lip, Shadow turned away. "I don't want to talk about it. Um, there's my doctor, see you later, okay?" and before Link could reply, Shadow had sprung to the door that led to the examination rooms and disappeared.

SSS

"Are you okay?" Sheik asked. He was hanging out at Shadow's doing assignments due at school on Monday. It was Saturday.

Shadow messed with his gloves, pulling at them restlessly. "Yeah."

". . . Bad day?"

". . . Bad month." The roots of his hair had started to grow out black again. Shadow sat up on his bed mound and kept fussing with his gloves. "I can't stop thinking about this twin I have . . . and who HE grew up with. And Dad and I still aren't talking." His brow furrowed. "And my best friend is ignoring me to be with his new boyfriend . . . And it's almost winter. I hate winter."

"Aaw, really? I love winter! The snow, the cold, the hot chocolate . . ."

"But it's always so dismal here, cloudy and what not. And Dad always drags me to his lodge in Death Mountain for school break. I'm not looking forward to it."

Sheik clambered onto the bed and sat next to him. "I think the problem isn't that this is a bad month, it's that next month isn't going to be any better. Am I right?"

"Probably."

"Well, we've got the talent show before break, that should be fun. OH! Did you hear? They opened it to other schools. It's now a multi-school event!"

"Wow, that's pretty awesome! . . . If only Dad would let me rehearse."

"Yeah, there's only so much you can do over the internet."

Shadow sighed audibly. "I'm still grounded, and going to be for a few weeks more."

"You're dad is THAT mad?"

"Yeah. I guess. There's no way I'm getting out of this house in time to practice with you guys."

Sheik squinted thoughtfully, then tapped his chin. "That's not entirely true . . ."

Shadow looked up. "What do you mean?"

"Well, it's my birthday next Wednesday."

"What! No way! Why didn't you tell me?"

Sheik grinned. "My parents always have a grownup party on my birthday. If I invited you and your dad, he'd definitely let you come, wouldn't he?"

"I dunno . . ."

Sheik smirked and put a hand on his arm. "Don't worry. I know politics. No WAY would your dad say no. My parents have already sent out the invites, but I'm sure they wouldn't mind two last minute additions. I'll tell Link and Shad and Midna, and maybe during the party we can sneak away to rehearse for an hour or so."

"Wow, you're like a super villain the way you plan things."

"That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me!"

SSS

Link sat outside school, on the steps, again waiting. He was biting his bottom lip anxiously, shaking his right leg restlessly.

"Hey there, Hero boy!"

His ears pricked up and he lifted his eyes to see Shad, who was standing next to him with a pile of rock-climbing equipment thrown over his shoulder. "Hi Shad. What's up? Going on another expedition?"

Shad gave him a sympathetic look. "Did you forget? We're going on assignment already."

Link sprang to his feet. "What, really?! WE? I thought it was going to take a few more weeks before I actually got to do anything besides office stuff with Mr. Rauru."

"Didn't they tell you about it?"

"Uh, well maybe they mentioned it, but Rauru asks those trick questions where you want to say no, but actually should have said yes, and so you don't say anything at all and sometimes I just kinda zone out when he's speaking."

Shad grinned and ruffled his hair. "You're odd, but that's alright. Let's get going."

Apparently Shad was old enough to drive. They were in a fancy UTV driving up trails in the mountains. Mr. Darunia sat in the back, taking up all three seats with his bulk. He wasn't fat, he was just . . . massively muscular, with barrel arms and a tank chest. He had this constant look of grumpy seriousness which belied a surprisingly fun underside. He especially loved happy music. Link learned all of this on the trip up the mountain.

"Alright, Link, was it?" Darunia began as they reached the uppermost trails of Death Mountain.

"Yeah."

"Okay, Link, do you know what we're doing?"

Link stared blankly, somewhat chagrined. "No. Sorry."

Darunia laughed and pounded Link on the back of the head. The force nearly knocked Link into the dashboard. "Don't worry, lad! Just do what I tell ya and you'll do fine."

Link followed the other two out of the vehicle and to a large cliff face against which was a large cavern.

"Dodongo's Cavern," Darunia explained. He pointed up. "Our work begins here. We discovered some cavern drawings after a recent earthquake dropped a few old walls. Our job is to clear a path to them and record the writing and take them to scholars so they can be translated."

"How?" Link asked.

Darunia held out paper and a large piece of brown crayon. "By drawing it." He stuffed the tools back into his many-pocketed vest. "Also take pictographs of it all. Our main job, however, as I said, is to clear a path. The Cavern can be very dangerous to the untrained spelunker, which is why WE are here to record data instead of the scientists. Well, let's get started."

Shad and Link put on their rock climbing gear and followed Darunia into the cavern. It was incredibly hot and stuffy, and smelled like burnt dirt. Darunia took in a deep breath. "Aaaaah, cavern air. Best in the country."

"I don't know about that," Shad said, frowning queasily.

They went through a short tunnel and found themselves in a large room with a platform in the center. Around that platform was a small river of nearly dried lava. These weren't the most interesting aspects though. Link gazed wide-mouthed at everything, especially at the gigantic, dragon-like skull in the opposing wall, the lower jaw of which was used as a bridge to a door at the back of the dragon's neck.

"WOW!" Link shouted. "THAT'S AAAAAAWESOME!"

Darunia chuckled. "Follow this path here. The murals are through these next few doors."

They left the giant room and came into another. It was a huge room, like the previous one, lit entirely by lava waterfalls from the walls, and at the edge of the platform you could see that the lava fell deep into the cavern, hundreds of feet below. Link stepped closed to the edge and stared down. It was beautiful the way the lava light reflected on the rocks. Stepping back, he craned his neck to look up. Sure enough, the lava waterfalls that fell into this room came from another room high above.

"Okay, Link," said Shad, "Here's how it works. I climb up first, ten feet, setting in anchors to prevent us from falling. THEN you climb after me and remove the anchors as you catch up."

"Great!" Link replied cheerfully, eyes bright.

"You seem excited. Nervous at all?"

Link shook his head emphatically. "I can't wait!"

The trip up the rock wall was extremely tiring, and slow-going. Darunia watched from below, hands on his hips, radioing instructions to Shad when he couldn't see up high enough to make a path where he needed to go.

Eventually they made it to a stretch of wall that had been disturbed by the earthquake Darunia mentioned. Behind the fallen dirt and rocks, a mural was exposed. A script that was not anything like Hylian was carved into it, and paintings of Gorons filled in the blanks.

"Incredible!" Shad said as they stood next to each other on the ledge admiring the mural. "It looks like Goron script. They haven't used their native tongue in centuries! It's been literally forgotten!"

Link just liked looking at the lines.

Shad radioed the information to Darunia, who was just as excited. "Good work, boys! Record the HECK out of that wall! You have no idea how important this is to me."

Shad handed the pictograph to Link, and himself took his own paper and crayon. He held the paper over the writing and rubbed over it with the crayon to get a general image of the words.

For a moment, Link just stood and admired the wall. He could almost feel the artists, their spirit in the air. _Imagine . . . somebody put this here hundreds of years ago, and even I can see it, and I'm way in the future!_ He held out a hand and slowly trailed his fingers against the writing. Was it history? A story? A blessing from some sort of shrine? Whatever it was, it was . . . sentient. He suddenly felt a longing to connect to these ancient peoples.

He forced himself to step back, and he took pictographs of the entire wall, as clearly and closely as he could. The pictographs came right out, and he put a letter in the corner of each so he would know how to put all the pictures together when he was done taking them. It was like constructing a giant puzzle.

"So how's your first day on the job been, Hero?"

Link paused to smile contentedly at Shad, before returning to taking pictures.

SSS

"I'm hoooome!" Link shouted. He greeted Aryll and Granny, and Aryll told him about her day while he ate a late dinner. When Aryll was done speaking, she climbed off her chair and went back to her business of drawing seagulls in the living room.

"So how was it, dear?" Granny asked when they were alone, noting that Link's posture was much more confident and less slouchy than normal.

"It was great! We went into this giant cavern, and there was a giant skeleton, but it was of a dragon, and oh, Grandma, there's HISTORY and it's literally seeping through the walls!" As he continued to babble on and on about his adventures, Granny began to smile wider and wider. She didn't dare interrupt. When Link was finished eating, she replaced his empty place with a bowl of ice cream, which Link started on without even realizing it.

SSS

Link bounced to the lunch table. "Hey guys! How was your weekend?"

Sheik looked up from her soup. "Oh, hey, Link. We were just discussing our rehearsal this Wednesday."

"Hey yeah," Shadow interruped, "What am I supposed to wear?"

"Just wear what you wore to the dance."

"It's formal?"

"Yes."

Link grimaced. "I had to return that tux, you know."

Sheik giggled. "Not you! And not Shad or Midna either. Shadow's dressing up because the only way he can come to rehearse is if he's invited to the actual event."

"Oooooooh," Link said, grinning.

"What are you smiling about?" Sheik suddenly asked Link.

"Hm?"

"You. You're smiling, like you're not even trying. It's not a sad smile like the last few months. You look happy."

Link considered this for a moment, and then replied, confidently, "I am. I'm really really happy!"

Sheik felt so happy he almost cried. How long had it been since he'd seen his best friend Link smile for real? He'd missed that reassuring smile so much, and here it was . . .

He sniffed.

"Allergies?" Shadow asked.

"Yeah," Sheik lied. "Here Link, have my pudding cup."

"Oh sweet! Thanks!"


	12. Chapter 12

**AN: I accidentally updated this a day late last week, so have this chapter a day earrrrrrrrlyyyyyyyy!**

 **Seriously I thought I had uploaded the chapter last week but turns out I only uploaded it to Doc manager and didn't actually publish it. So if you checked last Saturday and didn't see the story again until today, GO BACK A CHAPTER!**

 **Suggested Soundtrack: Something with guitars.**

 **I'm quite proud of this chapter, actually.**

 **Thank you for the favorites/follows/reviews! I really appreciate each and every one of you!**

* * *

Shadow was counting the imperfections on his ceiling, laying on his back with his head hanging over whatever side of his bed there still happened to be. His face was redder than normal. In fact, it almost seemed a human shade in contrast to his normal vampiric state.

Funny that hanging somewhat upside down like a bat is what made him look more human. He smirked in bored humor.

He wasn't allowed internet until he'd gotten his homework done, but he'd been done an hour ago and his dad hadn't come to check on him.

A rumbling in his tumbling told him it was time to snack. But he was out of snacks. He'd eaten way too many lately, and the rest were still in those boxes in the pantry, where Ganondorf had moved them.

How could he get to the pantry . . .

He rolled haphazardly several feet, blindly trying to find the edge of the bed and found the edge of the room instead. He knew this because he collided against the wall with his head. "Ow . . . I really need to clean up in here . . . hey, is that 1946 rupee?"

When Shadow arose from the Bed of Wonders after discovering many little distracting things, it was because he could no longer put off the desires of his heart.

Or stomach.

Yeah, that was it.

Since Ganondorf had broken down the door weeks ago, it hadn't gotten repaired yet. Which means he wasn't actually locked in. He'd already snuck out several times in his state of being grounded, but to do so when Ganondorf could come check on him at any time was risky.

 _I don't care. I'm hungry!_ Shadow pushed open the jimmy-rigged door and strode across the living room and into the kitchen. He paused here, listening to locate his father. The man could be heard in his office, speaking on the telephone quite animatedly, to some random person or other Shadow guessed.

Tip-toeing through the carnivore's domain, he sought the sanctuary of vegan snacks that was the pantry, reaching the door and turning the knob—he could already taste the bunny bread before a bang bothered his belated bread breaking.

"SHADOW!"

Shadow jolted, but realized immediately that this was not a "You're in trouble!" Shadow but rather a "SHADOW!" Shadow. He turned to find Ganondorf had burst out of his office and was running to the kitchen with some sort of energy he only reserved for gas guzzling cars and the like. "What's up, Dad?" Shadow asked conversationally.

Ganondorf looked positively smug. "We were invited to an evening at the senator's, by the senator HIMSELF!"

Playing dumb, knowing this was the party Sheik had mentioned, Shadow said, "Wait a minute, 'we?' B-but Dad," he fake stuttered, "I'm grounded, _remember?_ " He frowned fantastically. "Soooo I guess I can't go. Right?"

Ganondorf fell for the act hook line and sinker. He bumped his forehead against Shadow's with crazy eyes and pointed a finger at him. "Youaregoingtothispartyandnobutsaboutit!" He spun on his heels and stormed off like a giant grumpy troll.

"Aaaw, Daaaaaaad." As soon as Ganondorf was out of sight Shadow grinned, opened the pantry, grabbed a box of snacks, and skipped lightly back to his room. With a mouthful of bunny bread snacks, he picked up his guitar and played a few victory strums.

* * *

The castle—yes, it was indeed a castle, from the ages when Hyrule had a monarchy—was brightly lit with all manner of torches, blue and yellow and red fire. On the inside imitations of fairy lights hovered in the air above everyone's heads, suspended by invisible wires. The walls were covered by dark drapes to give the room a dimmed feel. The ballroom was a large floor with lapis lazuli blue marble tiles, and a balcony with white banisters from where you could look down at the dancers. Hylruleans of every race swayed on the floor, or else chatted lightly, champagne glasses in hand.

Zelda, on the balcony, put her elbows on the banisters. She was wearing traditional princess attire, from the purple Triforce-embroidered apron thing to the gold, metal shoulder caps and the headdress made of diamond-shaped gold pieces and the bicep-length white gloves. At least the material was silk so it wasn't uncomfortable to her senses as well as her mind.

"Hi Sheik!"

Zelda looked left in relief as Link trotted up the stairs to stand next to her, a bright smile on his lips. "Oh good, I can act somewhat normal now—what are you wearing?"

Scratching his head, Link shrugged. "Grandma had it stashed somewhere."

This made Zelda's mouth curl up in one corner. "Why does your grandma have a traditional green tunic and hat stashed away somewhere?"

Link grinned. "I have NO idea!" Then he took in what "Zelda" was wearing. "Yeaaaah, how are you doing?"

"I've been told how much of a woman I've grown into at least a hundred times, and told I'll make a 'beautiful' queen."

Link's nose scrunched. "Ew. Just beautiful? Not smart, or intelligent, or powerful . . .?"

"Nope. Just beautiful. Oh, and they're all looking forward to my 'beautiful' vocal performance, too."

Sheik turned back around, and Link joined him at the banister. They both watched the party guests. "Man, being a girl is so complicated," Link commented. "What am I gonna do when Aryll starts growing up? I'm gonna have to tell her she's smart every friggin' day or something!"

"Yeah, completely ignore that I've hosted dozens of charity events in the last two years, am top of my class, and donate time to the Hyrulean library and homeless shelter. No. Let's focus on how much a woman I LOOK like!"

"It's like daggers on both sides, cuz they aren't respecting you as a guy, but they're not respecting you as a girl, either. It just sucks. Wanna dance? You can be the lead."

Sheik smirked. "That might actually make me feel better." As they walked down the stairs, Sheik asked, "Where are the others by the way?"

"They're hanging out in your game room, getting everything set up."

"Awesome." After a moment of silence as Sheik regarded Link, he said, "You know, Link, you actually look pretty good in that outfit."

"Oh, really? Thanks! It's kind of embarrassing actually."

"That makes two of us." Sheik chuckled.

* * *

Shadow stepped out of the car and walked next to Ganondorf as they made their way through the outer grounds and to the castle. His guitar case was hefted on his back.

"Why do you need to bring that?" Ganondorf had asked sharply back at home.

"Uh, I, uuuuh, Zelda wanted to try it out with her own amp. Told her I'd bring it tonight since we're going to her house and all and since we can't hang out _because I'm grounded_." The grumpiness in his face and voice was not hiding at all.

Happily, Ganondorf was too honored at being invited to the castle to wonder any more at the guitarish antics of his child and his friends.

Ganondorf wore a smart tweed suit and his signature red-glassed sunglasses. Shadow wore his coat-tailled suit from the dance, and wore his hair in a ponytail. It was half grown black, with the bottom half still purple, which gave it a nice gradient effect. He had wanted to dress up as a knight of Hyrule, but his father wouldn't let him, saying he didn't have an ounce of knight blood in him that he knew of.

They entered the ballroom through a great archway door, and were almost immediately set upon by none other than Senator Johansen Daphnes Hyrule the III himself. Shadow tried not to grin at the man's outfit—not that it was bad, but it certainly put Shadow in a good mood. The senator wore the traditional dress of an ancient Hylian king, with the red cloak, the white ruffly thing around his neck, and big crown on his head. He had even trimmed his white but mostly grey beard in the ancient style. He wasn't overweight like in the pictures of old kings—he was much too health conscious for that outdated practice of showing wealth by gut size. Shadow nodded in approval.

"Well! Welcome Mr. Dragmire and young Master Shadow," he said, much more cheerfully at Shadow than at Ganondorf, who beamed at the attention.

The two grownups shook hands and Ganondorf blathered his thanks for being invited, with the senator waving his gratitude off in a practiced, nonchalant way. Ganondorf of course started to make conversation, but Harkinian suddenly interrupted him to point at Shadow's guitar case. "Oh! You've brought your guitar!"

"Uh. Yeah," Shadow replied dumbly, not knowing what else to say.

"Would you mind playing it for us?"

"Uh, yes?"

Ganondorf hissed warningly, "Shadow."

"I mean it's an electric guitar, sir," Shadow corrected with a sigh. "Not exactly appropriate for . . . this kind of venue."

"Oh, but you are right," Harkinian replied, "But nonsense! We are in a new age afterall. Isn't electric what all kids play these days? I insist. Play a song for us!"

"Uh . . ." Shadow was not prepared, but he shrugged and said anyway, "Okay." He didn't think he could refuse anyway. _Ugh, how am I going to make this NOT a disaster?_ He hated being FORCED to perform, but he didn't want to embarrass Sheik by playing a rowdy song and getting kicked out and never invited back to his house. Because that would be his normal plan. Play something terrible so nobody would ever force you to play in front of a stuffy group of government officials again.

He couldn't do that, so what?

"Excellent! Good form!" Harkinian patted him roughly on the shoulder. "The maestro will help you set up. There you go." He shepherded Shadow off in the direction of the music stage.

His cheeks were red again. He wasn't normally nervous when he performed . . . a stout man helped him find a plug in and fetch an amp for his guitar, and also a seat, because Shadow didn't think his knees would hold his weight under the circumstances. There were at least a hundred guests if not more. The redness got worse as the senator announced to the guests that Shadow would be playing a song on an electric guitar. Shadow felt the curious stares as if he were some kind of monkey playing a circus instrument. He gulped. He was glad he'd already picked out a song on his way to the stage.

The maestro set up a microphone in front of Shadow so he could talk into it. As Shadow coughed into it and looked out into the crowd, he found Link and Sheik, who gave him encouraging, surprised, but also sympathetic looks. Shadow wondered how ill he looked. "So, uh, ahem! My name is Shadow, and, uh . . ." He took a big breath in and let it out, collecting himself. "This is a song I wrote for a friend of mine. He's way brave, and super inspiring, and I just want to let him know that. Sheik, this one's for you."

In the audience, Sheik's eyes teared up. By using the name Sheik, no one would know that the subject of the song, a 'boy,' was actually their own princess. Shadow had done this on purpose. They had come up empty with ideas on how to crash the party so he wouldn't have to sing the stupid Goddess song, but here Shadow had figured it out on his own. He acknowledged Sheik's existence, and right under the nose of every guest here. It was like a secret shared between Sheik, Shadow, and Link. Link, who stood next to Sheik, put an arm around the shorter prince and gave his signature confident smile.

Up on the stage, Shadow finished the intro to his song, swaying back and forth and tapping his foot. He opened his mouth and sang.

"Time passes, people move,

Like a river

the water reflecting the friends you've made.

[chorus]

Oh as long as you hold my heart in your hand,

you hold time itself

The flow of time is cruel

No one can change it

But memories of you and I will never change

[chorus]

Oh as long as you hold my heart in your hand

you hold time itself

[bridge]

Over mountains, under water, to the grave, and beyond

In a desert, in the dark, through a forest

Our friendship will guide the way

And you will know which way to go

[chorus]

Oh as long as you hold my heart in your hand

you hold time itself

A person may die and paths may divide,

but friendship absorbs even time

Like a river

Like a river

Oh as long as you hold my heart in your hand

you hold time itself

My friend, you are my river

My friend, you are my river"

The last echoes of the song dissipated into the hall. Sheik was a sobbing mess, but was trying his best to hide it since, technically, the song was NOT about Princess Zelda, who he was pretending to be right now. It took every fiber of his being to not rush on stage and glomp Shadow right then and there. It would look awfully strange with all of the applauding guests watching-

"OH WHAT THE DEKU NUTS!" Sheik hiked up his skirt and charged on stage, his heels clacking on the tiles loudly. Shadow barely stood up in time before Sheik threw his arms about his neck and started bawling into his shoulder. "THAT WAS TH-THE M-MOST BEAUTIFUL TH-THING I'VE EVER HEARRRRRRRRRRRRD SHADOW, I LOVE YOU WAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Link appeared on the stage next. "Guys! There's an open servant's door. Let's make a break for it!"

Shadow nodded and hurried with the emotional Shiek off the stage and disappearing behind some drapes while Link grabbed his guitar and then followed suit. They disappeared while the audience was still entranced by the memory of the song.

"Well!" Harkinian announced after the noise died down. Finally. "Now on to the rest of the night!"

More applause, but controlled this time.

* * *

People wouldn't stop complimenting Ganondorf on Shadow's performance. He felt bad. He'd never actually seen Shadow perform before. He'd heard him through the thick door, but that was barely it. They all told him how lucky he was that he got to have Shadow in his home, hearing him play all the time.

He was good. Even the stuck up maestro thought so.

Even though he'd been formally invited and welcomed, the tensions around him were still icy. It wasn't just that he was a successful but brutal businessman. "Gerudo" was a dirty word in Hyrule, always had been. Where a certain name for a female dog might be used in other countries as an insult, in Hyrule the word "Gerudo" was used instead. He heard the comments muttered behind his back. It was part of why he was so ruthless. If they would not respect him on account of him being a Gerudo, he would MAKE them respect, and even fear him as a powerful CEO.

If only they didn't take it out on Shadow. He had gone through great lengths to hide the fact that Shadow was his son, simply so that he wouldn't be disadvantaged by virtue of his connection to the desert man. They had seen Shadow now. They knew how gifted he was. And yet, there was so much surprise as well, as though the child of a Gerudo could never amount to anything. The glass in his hand cracked from the force with which he gripped it. He set it down.

The night had gone on for a long time. He couldn't find Shadow and the princess anywhere. _He better not be doing anything that would shame me!_ And why had he sung that song, anyway? Sheik wasn't even here . . .

And why had the princess gotten . . . so . . . emotional . . .

He pulled out Shadow's phone—yes, he had confiscated it because he didn't want his son caught texting at a party—and flipped through the pictures. There were pictures of Link, Sheik, and Shadow, and there were pictures of Link, Zelda, and Shadow. But there was never a picture of Link, Sheik, Zelda, and Shadow. He studied Sheik's face. He studied the princess' face.

 _Oh my . . . the princess has a secret identity! And she's dressed as a boy. Certainly her parents don't know._ He thought of what he could do with such information. Embarrass the monarchy? Bring them down a peg? Get revenge on the racist Hylian nobles?

Well, send it to the tabloids! With Shadow cropped out of the picture, of course. He didn't need that kind of attention. With their own daughter—or freak, whatever—in the spotlight of society's criticism, maybe they would feel an inkling of what it was like to be outcast. His son deserved better than ANY OF THEM! He sent the photos to his phone, and within a few clicks, the deed was done.

* * *

"That. Was. AWESOME!" Shadow pumped a fist into the air. The rehearsal session had gone better than expected, and they were all feeling better about the actual performance.

"So," Shad was saying to Link as he packed up his bass. "You're descended from the knights, is that right?"

"Yeah," Link answered. "On my mom's side anyway. Distantly. We don't know about my dad because he was abandoned as a kid and never knew his parents."

"Oh my. That's awful!"

Link shrugged. "It's okay. I kinda know how he feels now. He and mom died in the spring."

Shad gasped. "Oh, I'm . . . I'm so sorry!"

Again, Link shrugged, but offered no other words. He wanted to avoid any seriousness tonight. "Hey guys! Wanna go get ice cream?"

"YEAH!" Shadow shrieked, his voice cracking.

"I think you just hijacked my car for the night, Hero," Shad mentioned.

Link blushed bashfully. "Well, you're the only one who can drive, and we need somewhere to store our instruments until we're done, so . . . ."

Shad grinned and ruffled his hair. "Don't worry, I don't mind."

"You can drive?" Shadow asked.

"Yeah, an eco-friendly jeep."

Suddenly Sheik shouted, "SHOTGUN!" and ran out the door.

Shadow sprinted after him. "NO! NO! ME! I GET SHOTGUN!"

"You snooze you lose, vegan boy, ahahaha!"

Link laughed and followed them both, and finally Shad, shouting, "NOBODY BETTER TOUCH MY CAR BEFORE I GET THERE!"

Link ran after the other two down the stairs and into the ballroom, slowly gaining and passing Shadow.

"NO FAIR FAIRY LEGS!"

"Eat dirt, lettuce legs!"

Sheik laughed so hard he couldn't run anymore, so Link passed him, too, Shadow close behind. Shadow grabbed Link's hat, which made Link halt. "Hey! Give that back!"

"HA! I—ih—frd brafg—" Shadow's eyes widened, and he became suddenly pale. A hand shot out and grabbed the front of Link's tunic as Shadow collapsed, as if unable to hold his own weight. His other hand grabbed at his own chest. His breathing became hoarse and clipped.

"Shadow!" Link said, crouching to try to help. "Shadow, what's wrong?"

"C-can't . . . breathe . . ."

Sheik caught up with them. "Shadow?"

"Shadow? Shadow wake up!" Link was shaking Shadow by the shoulders. "He's not—HE'S NOT BREATHING!"

"Oh my goddess." Sheik's hands flew to his face. He thought to get his phone and call an ambulance, but he'd left it in his dreaded purse in the game room. He looked around for help. Guests had already started gathering, and phones were being pulled out. Sheik ran to Shadow's side and knelt down.

Link was still shouting into Shadow's face, but Shadow didn't respond.

A large man burst through the crowd—Ganondorf. "OUT OF MY WAY!" Sheik retreated immediately, but Ganondorf had to shove the distraught Link away from Shadow. He then began performing CPR.

"What happened?" Sheik was muttering. "What's happening?!" He and Link huddled together.

Shadow wouldn't wake up.

* * *

 **AN: Aaaah! I'm so sorry to leave you on such a cliff hanger. So many cluuuuuues in this chapter, though.**

 **Trivia: do you know where I took the lyrics to Shadow's song from? Here's a hint: IT'S ZELDA RELATED.**


	13. Chapter 13

AN: I wish I could say this chapter will be cheerier than last week, buuuuut . . . if you want to know what happens next Saturday: SPOILERshadowisgoingtobefine/SPOILER

Suggested Soundtrack: I dunno, the saddest violin sad ever. Youtube it! Next week will have a suggested soundtrack for sure!

Thank you for the reviews! I'll reply to them as soon as I can! :)

* * *

Chapter le everybody has a mental breakdown

"Shadow has suffered acute heart failure."

The quiet but clear announcement woke Link from slumber. He, Sheik, and their families (minus Aryll and Romani) were in the hospital waiting room. They'd been there all night while the doctors worked to save Shadow's life.

Link sat up immediately, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Sheik had done the same. They were still wearing the same clothes from the party, which were now rumpled and wrinkled.

The doctor continued, "At the moment we have Shadow hooked up to machines that are breathing and pumping blood for him. We won't know the extent of the damage until he's stable enough for an MRI . . . or else wakes up. It's lucky you got him here so quickly."

Ganondorf stood out in the hall, leaning against the wall with a fist hovering next to his mouth. Link figured the doctor had told him first, then come out here to tell the rest of them.

"But he WILL wake up?" Sheik asked.

The doctor visibly took a breath in, as if preparing himself. "We're not sure. You should be aware, even if he DOES wake up, there may be . . . changes in his ability to function. He may not be able to speak, and he may have lost motor function in parts of his body. These effects may be temporary, or they may be permanent. We'll only know with time."

Link stood and walked to the nearest wastebasket, throwing up into it. Granny hurried over to pat him on the back and pull his hair away from his face.

Sheik had dark circles under his eyes, which had somehow forgotten how to blink. He just stared at the doctor with a blank expression. His mother sat next to him and put her arms about his shoulders comfortingly.

Across the room, Vaati sat next to a tall, older boy with gray skin, white hair, and purple eye shadow. Vaati had called him "Ghiri." Vaati's face was hidden behind his hands and hair, as it had been since he sat down hours ago, his upper body crunched down on itself with his elbows on his knees. Ghiri flipped boredly through a magazine, mouth set in a straight, impatient line.

"Doctor," asked Senator Harkinian, "How soon will we be able to see Shadow?"

The doctor shook his head. "We won't be allowing visitors for a few days at the very least." He then excused himself and left the waiting room.

Senator Harkinian walked into the hall and said a few words to Ganondorf, who nodded tersely. Then the senator walked back to his wife and Sheik. "There's nothing to do but wait, my dear. It's time we went home to our own beds."

"But—" Sheik protested.

"No buts," his father interrupted gently. "I'm sure Mr. Dragmire will contact us if there are any changes. Come now."

Sheik tried to protest again, but was obviously too exhausted to protest hard with his parents on both sides of him corralling him out of the hospital. "Goodbye, Link!" he said quickly before they went out the door.

Link had finished throwing up, but he was still crumpled on the floor, whimpering. Granny did her best to hold him up and comfort him.

Ghiri had shot up from his seat, stretched, and announced, much too eagerly, "Welp! That's that. Time to go, Vaati." After which there was some whispered bickering, and then suddenly,

"—HALF! COMMITTED! TWAT!"

Link raised his head at the commotion in time to watch Vaati sputter in shock, and then run out the door after a very irritated Ghiri and say, "Why are you being like this, Ghiri?!"

He felt Granny combing his hair with her fingers. "My, I wonder what that was about. Sweetheart, you would like to stay, wouldn't you?"

Link nodded weakly.

"Okay. We'll stay as long as you like."

Of course, Granny was old. There was only so long she could help Link before she fell asleep. Link found a cushion to place behind her head and settled her as comfortably as possible on a hospital chair, then took a seat nearby. Alone again, Link dropped his face into his hands as he was wracked with sobs.

From the hallway, golden eyes studied the crying youth with a rare look of sympathy. Heavy footsteps slowly made their way across the waiting room as Ganondorf sat himself next to Link.

"What it is, boy?"

"E-everyone around me . . ." Link said between sobs, "keeps _dying!_ "

"Shadow tells me your parents passed away earlier this year."

Link nodded. "I miss them _so much_. And now Sh-Shadow . . . I can't take it anymore, I can't!""

Ganondorf sighed. Link felt a large, warm hand on his back. He looked up into Ganondorf's face, and the large man said, "Those we love never really leave us, Link. They're there, always watching."

"It doesn't feel like it," Link said bitterly.

"Haven't you seen their faces in the people around you?"

Link considered. Sometimes, he thought he saw his mother, or father, but later found out it was someone else. It was always crushing. He responded, "Yes."

"That's how you know they're watching. They can't be here in the same way as before, but they are there. I know my wife is watching every time I see Shadow. There is no way his kindness is because of MY parenting, and he looks just like her. In him, she is still alive, and in you, your parents still live."

Link thought about this for several minutes, then said, "I still hate it. I hate death."

"I do, too. Let us hope that is not what's in store for Shadow."

"Yeah."

"Speaking of. _When_ Shadow returns home, he's going to need help to recover."

Link gasped. "I'd love to! I can be there every day, every hour!"

Ganondorf held up his other hand. Link stopped immediately. _So obedient_ , Ganondorf thought. _So UNLIKE Shadow_. The realization brought a familiar exasperation . . . but also pain. What if Shadow didn't— "I mean to say, I will be taking care of Shadow. However, I will need someone to manage my office and other basic affairs while I do so. Would you be willing to work for me?"

Link's jaw dropped. He rubbed his eyes and crossed his forehead. "Um . . . yeah, I guess so."

"Good. I . . ." here Ganondorf's voice wobbled just a bit. He gave Link's gave a final, firm pat. "I'll call you in the next few days." He stood, and then he, too, exited the hospital.

* * *

Sheik arranged his hair one more time in the mirror, making sure it was all satisfactorily tucked into his hipster cap. He adjusted the fit of his chest binder and his blue button-up shirt. He patted down Link's pair of baggy jeans, which he had decided to wear. His heart raced, and his thoughts raced, but he was resolved.

He had to. He had to tell his parents that he was male. Life was too short, and if Shadow died . . . He pushed open his bedroom door and walked resolutely down the stairs, feeling the blood drain from his face in perpetual terror.

Senator and Mrs. Harkinian were still awake, talking about the night's tragic events on the living room couch. The senator had his arm around his wife, and they both quieted when Sheik stood in front of them, staring at the couch between their shoes because he was too scared to look them in the eye. "I have something to say," he began. His parents gave him confused expressions as they glanced over his outfit.

"What is it, Zelda?" Harkinian asked steadily.

 _Here goes everything,_ Sheik thought. "I'm a boy. I've always been a boy, and I don't want to pretend to be a girl anymore, and I want you to understand that."

Expressions of shock answered him. His mother recovered first, "Zelda, why are you saying this?"

"Because! I don't want there to be lies anymore! I wanna be who I am before . . ." he choked and had to force the rest out, "before it's _too late!_ "

His father stood then, holding out a hand. "Zelda, you've had a long night, you're confused—"

"I am NOT confused!" Sheik shouted, wringing his shirt hem in his hands. "I am NOT a girl and I'VE NEVER BEEN one!"

A tinge of anger crossed his father's features as he took Sheik's shoulders, "Now young lady—"

"Dad," Sheik pleaded, "Please believe me!"

"I am your FATHER, I will not be interrupted!"

"Just listen!"

His mother put a hand on his father's arm, and guided his arms away from Sheik. "Dear, I think we should take a minute."

"No! This charade has gone on long enough, Grizzelda." He turned to Sheik. "Don't think I haven't noticed your male clothing and your _demonic music_ choices. You are putting this family to shame!"

"Dear, I really think you should think about what you are doing."

"I WILL NOT HAVE A TRANSVESTITE DEMON WORSHIPPER UNDER MY ROOF!"

Sheik shrank back in fright.

"Johannes!" Mrs. Harkinian scolded, and she stepped between Sheik and his father. "You will not speak to your daughter—" slight confusion crossed her features, then cleared and she continued firmly, "your _child_ that way!"

"I will speak how I want! This is my house!"

"You will not! You will leave!"

"Grizzelda, I—"

"Leave." The word was final.

Mr. Harkinian stormed out, and in the distance they heard the door shut.

Sheik melted into his mother's arms, hiccuping. No matter what he did, he couldn't stop shaking. His father had never yelled at him like that before, nor said such horrible things. "Did I do something wrong?" he asked in a broken voice.

"No, sweetie," his mother assured him, holding him close, "You did nothing wrong."

"Why is he so mad at me?"

"He's just . . . leave your father to me."

"But you love me, right?"

His mother pulled him even closer. "Of _course_ I do! Nothing will EVER change that, I swear it by the names of the goddesses."

Sheik cried into his mother's shoulder until the sobs and shaking subsided slightly.

"Now," his mother said, holding Sheik at arm's length. "We're going to sit down, and we're going to talk about your feelings, and about you being a boy, alright?"

Sheik became worried again.

"I'm not going to get angry, love," his mother reassured him. "I just want to understand how you feel. Do you really feel you're a boy?"

Sheik nodded plaintively. "Yes, mommy."

His mother pulled him into another hug.

* * *

Something settled over Link's shoulders, and he awoke. A nurse stood over him. She had a kind face, and chin-length red hair. She straightened quickly when she saw he was awake. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. "You looked cold."

Link looked at himself and found he was covered in a hospital blanket. "Oh . . . thank you." He was pretty much awake, and sunlight was coming in through the hospital windows, so he sat up, holding the blanket around him.

The nurse smiled. "Let me know if there's anything else you need. My name's Anju."

"Thank you, Anju."

She nodded and walked away.

The hospital doors opened. A familiar pair of khakis and argyle socks came through. It was Shad, his hair combed nicely and wearing a striped t-shirt. In his hands he held two cups with straws in them.

"Hey, Shad," Link said, sounding just a little cheerier.

Shad sat down next to him and held one of the cups out to him. "Brought you breakfast."

Link uttered his thanks and took the cup gratefully. It was some kind of smoothie.

"So . . . how are you doing?" Shad asked, his thumb tapping his smoothie nervously.

Link let his silence answer. He really didn't know what to say anymore.

"I see," Shad responded. "Look . . . if there's anything I can do to help, you'll let me know."

"Of course."

"I'm really glad you're in the research program. It's been good working with you."

"Oh. Yeah. So . . . I might have to take a break from that."

"Hm? Why?"

"Well . . . Ganondorf offered me a job."

Shad looked about ready to scoff.

"I know, I know, he's the last person I would EVER want to work for. It's for Shadow, though, you know?"

Shad seemed a little tense. "I see. You like Shadow, don't you?"

"Yeah, he's like a brother to me."

Suddenly Shad relaxed. "Oh, is that all?" Then his eyes widened. "I'm so sorry, that sounded terrible . . ."

Link just stared at Shad in a bit of confusion.

Shad was blushing a bit. "The thing is . . . I like you. A lot. And . . . I know this is probably the worst time to say so, but I'd really like to spend more time with you. What do you . . . think about that?"

Now it was Link's turn to flush red. He smiled slightly. "Really? You like me? Why?" Nobody'd ever said they liked him before, not like _that_. Especially not somebody who was two years older and as interesting and attractive as Shad. Did that mean HE was interesting and attractive?

Shad ducked his head shyly. "I like the way you smile, and the way you're so interested in everything. Also . . . you're _really_ cute when you're working."

Link felt something between embarrassment and pleasure. "Well I like you, too, Shad!" he said, quite brightly.

"Yeah . . . I know."

* * *

AN: I don't even know how boys act when they have crushes


	14. Chapter 14

AN: The moment you've all been waiting fooooor! :D

I am so sorry for being behind on replying to reviews ;.; I really do love every one of them! School's been crazy . . .

Suggested soundtrack: Enchanted to Meet You as sung by Owl City (or Taylor Swift, you pick!)

* * *

Chapter dun DUN dun DUN dun DUUUUUUUN!

Sheik snuck quietly into the hospital room and shut the door behind. "Hi, Shadow . . ."

His friend lay unresponsive on the hospital bed, eyes closed, hooked up to a bunch of beeping machines.

Sitting down, Sheik pulled his iPod out of his pocket and flipped through the channels. "So . . . I—I really liked your song. I don't write songs, and I suck at guitar, but . . ." He smiled. "I wanted to return the favor. I hope you can hear it. Honestly . . . you're much braver than I. I wouldn't have the guts to do this if you were awake."

Silence was his only answer, but then he laughed. "I'd bet . . . I'd bet you'd say, 'Don't say that, Sheik, I bet you'd be rockin'!' Haha! . . . so anyway . . . I changed some of the lyrics for you. That's about as creative as I get." He pushed play on his iPod and turned the volume up, muttering out of one side of his mouth, "Sorry about the crappy quality.

"There I was again tonight

forcing laughter, faking smiles

Same old tired, lonely place

Walls of insincerity

Shifting eyes and vacancy

vanished when I saw your face

All I can say is it was enchanting to meet you

* * *

 _Why isn't it working?!_ Ganondorf's hands slammed onto the table, the papers and apparatuses on it quaking. _It's worked for YEARS. Why isn't it working anymore? This . . . this was not supposed to happen!_

He had been up night and day trying to fix the formula, but every time he tried it on a rat with an induced heart attack, the result was the same—heart failure.

 _How to repair a broken heart?_

Ganondorf wrapped his head with his hands and leaned his forehead on the table.

* * *

Your eyes whispered "have we met?"

Across the room your silhouette

starts to make it's way to me

The playful conversation starts

Counter all your quick remarks

like passing notes in secrecy

All I can say is it was enchanting to meet you

Oh _Shadow_ I was so enchanted to meet you

* * *

When Link returned from school, after finally being convinced by Shad to go to at least get his mind off Shadow, he found something curious stuck to the fridge.

His report card.

"I got . . . an A? GRANDMA! How . . . how did I do that?!"

Granny was grinning and clapping her tiny hands. "You must have studied really hard, Link! I'm making hot fudge milkshakes to celebrate!"

Thinking back, Link had to admit he HAD studied more . . . but why? It's not like his life changed or anything.

Wait. Ever since he started working with Shad on all those adventures, he'd found he was able to focus better and actually pay attention in class. Was it the exercise? . . . Was it Shad's cute calves?

He scoffed and laughed at himself. He bit his lower lip in excitement. _An A! I'm finally smart again!_

 _Shadow, you can't die on me. You have to see this!_

* * *

 _Your eyes are sparkling, don't you let go_

I'm wonderstruck, _and if you don't come home_

I'll spend forever wondering if you knew

I was enchanted to meet you

The lingering question kept me up

 _2 days late, won't you wake up?_

I wondered till I'm wide awake

Now I'm pacing back and forth,

wishing you were at my door

I'd open up and you would say,

Hey it was enchanting to meet you too

Oh _Shadow_ I was so enchanted to meet you

* * *

"Oh my goddess!" Midna shouted at lunch. "NABS! THIS is why Zelda's not at school today!"

The short imp of a teenager thrust a papery magazine in Nabooru's face.

Nabooru, not pleased at all at the sudden forceful grab of her attention, frowned and took the paper from Midna. "Gimme that! I can't read anything when it's that close to my face . . ." Immediately, she scoffed and rolled her eyes. It was the Hylian Examiner—you know, the magazine that always talked about conspiracy theories, aliens (especially at Romani Ranch), or Gerudo plots to take over the world (Nabooru especially hated these). When Midna was unrelenting, she inspected the headline. And laughed. " _What?_ Zelda dressed up as a boy? Where'd they get this one?" Intrigued, she opened the paper to the appropriate page.

Midna merely looked on with a serious expression.

Nabooru's eyes wandered to the pictures, and soon her expression became as serious as Midna's. "Oh. _Oh._ And isn't that Link, that boy she's always hanging out with?"

"Yeah. And obviously the other arm around her belongs to Shadow. Look at the bandages!"

Nabooru put the paper on the table and inspected the photo.

"Do you think it's been doctored?"

"I . . . I don't know."

They heard funny-sounding whispers and looked around them. The same paper was being passed from classmate to classmate, and not just the Hylian Examiner. Magazines that the skeptical Gerudo girl knew and trusted were being passed around, with the same photo and similar headlines on their front pages. "What the . . ."

"See?!" Midna hissed. "What do we do?"

"D-Damage control! Where are those boys?!"

* * *

 _Your life is sparkling,_ don't you let it go

I'm wonderstruck, _and if you don't come home_

I'll spend forever wondering if you knew

I was enchanted to meet you

* * *

"I HAVE TO GO TO SCHOOL!" Sheik yelled. "I CAN'T HIDE FOREVER!"

"DRESSED LIKE THAT YOU'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE!" His father screamed back. "BACK UPSTAIRS AND DRESS LIKE A LADY!"

"WHY? EVERYBODY KNOWS ANYWAYS!"

* * *

This is me praying that this was the very first page

Not where the story line ends

 _My thoughts will echo your name until you wake up again_

These are the words I held back as I was leaving too soon

I was enchanted to meet you

* * *

The stares and whispers weren't just unbearable. They were frightening. People who used to smile at him walked by with only sideways glances. And frowns. People bumped him in the halls, or sniggered behind their hands. The third time someone grabbed his hat, he just let it go.

He walked along, trying to ignore everything and focus on his classes.

At lunch, since Shadow wasn't here and Link was off researching with Shad somewhere, and since it was Thursday, she decided to sit by Midna and Nabooru.

Midna saw him coming and excitedly waved him over. "OMG! You really are a cross dresser!" She winked. "You look _hot_ , girl!"

Nabooru sat with her arms folded, eyeing Sheik tensely.

Midna stuck the school paper in front of Zelda. "We cleared stuff up for you. Tried to, anyway. Nothin' wrong with wearing the clothes of the opposite sex, you know?"

"Um . . . no," Sheik replied, bumping his toes together. "Thanks you guys. That's . . . really nice."

"Yeah," Midna said, "no prob Zelda! Sit down!"

"Just one thing. Um . . . I'm not just dressing as a boy. I AM a boy. I'm trans."

Midna's face froze. Her eyes blanked out. A startled and derisive noise escaped from Nabooru's mouth. Her eyes suddenly gained a horrified quality. "You . . . you _want_ to turn into a man?"

"No, no . . . I _am_ a man already. I just don't look like it. And I know this is super awkward—"

Nabooru picked up her backpack noisily and plopped it onto the seat Sheik would normally have taken.

"Nabs?"

Nabooru wouldn't look at him. She turned her face away and pretended Sheik wasn't there.

Midna was still staring into space, her jaw on the table.

Sheik's cheeks flushed with humiliation. "O-okay," she said, trying to hide his hurt. He lowered his head and rushed quickly away.

In his next class, the teacher was giving a lecture on Hyrule's worst enemies, despite that not being in the textbook. "So here we have the Demon Sword, and the personation of him. You can tell he has a thing for . . . _strange_ dress, with eye shadow and manners you would normally associate with a woman . . ."

Sheik wanted to disappear into his seat. The quiet snickering had already started, and the teacher just kept going, ignoring it all.

"Yuga, of course," the teacher continued, "was so obsessed with beauty that he was almost always mistaken for the opposite gender."

Appreciative laughs answered him.

"And finally. . . _the Wind Sorcerer—"_

Sheik stood up. The room silenced as he collected his things and marched out of the classroom. His first thought was to go to the principle's office to report the teacher, but he was too upset. He leaned his back against a wall, shaking with fury, angry tears forming on his face. _How come they've forgotten that the Princess of Hyrule thousands of years ago crossed dressed as a Sheikah? I mean . . . no, she wasn't actually a_ guy _but . . ._ He sank to the ground, hiding his face in his hands and his head on his knees, which he pulled up to his chest.

Luckily no one bothered him for the rest of the school period.

Of course, then the bell rang. Sheik forced himself up to trade books at his locker for the next period, but even from twenty feet away he could see it was covered in sticky notes. He didn't want to even see what was written on them, so he turned on his heel and decided he just didn't need his other books today.

At he turned around, he heard raucous laughter, and turned. A tall Rito boy was pointing at the rolled up bun on his head and exclaiming, "You trying to be a boy or a girl today, Zelda? Hahaha!"

Sheik hunched his shoulders as even people who weren't watching suddenly let their mouths turn up in jeering grins. His cheeks were inflamed. He ran away as fast as he could . . .

* * *

 _Please don't be in love with somewhere else_

 _Please, you have somebody waiting on you_

 _Please don't be in love with somewhere else_

 _Please, you have somebody waiting on you_

* * *

The rat began to stir, which Ganondorf only noticed when he heard a tiny chatter. He raised his head and saw the rat slowly, and tremblingly, getting to its feet. After twitching its nose a few times, it wobbled to the edge of its cage and nosed around the sawdust for food, chittering faintly.

A wide smile nearly broke Ganondorf's face. _Yes!_

After a few more alterations in which he perfected the formula, Ganondorf created a larger amount of the serum. He loaded it into a syringe, measuring the amount with exactness. As he stared through the green liquid in the glass syringe, his eyes saw through it the distorted bodies of the animals he had tested on. Dozens of rats, snakes, cuccos, and even Wolfos.

 _If Shadow ever finds out about this_ , Ganondorf thought, _he's going to kill me._

He locked the syringe in its case, threw the case in his jacket pocket and left the room, navigated the halls until he reached the secret door that led back to his office. He hurried through it, not bothering to see if it closed all the way behind him. As if it mattered. All the animals were dead, weren't they?

* * *

 _Your love is sparkling, I won't let you go_

I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home

I'll spend forever wondering if you knew

This night is flawless, don't you let it go

I'm wonderstruck, dancing around all alone

 _Shadow,_ I'll spend my whole life wondering if you knew

I was enchanted to meet you"

 _Sheik leaned over and planted a kiss on Shadow's forehead. "Don't leave me, Shadow."_

* * *

Ganondorf slipped into the room. The hospital was dark. It was 4AM. Visiting hours were over, but how was that supposed to stop the CEO of evil?

He stepped over to Shadow, glancing around at the windows outside and into the hall one last time as he dug out the syringe case. He opened it and pulled out the serum. With his empty hand he opened up Shadow's hospital gown, and he applied the shot directly into Shadow's chest. "There . . ." _Now we wait._

He sat apprehensively next to the bed, watching for any movement.

Shadow's eyes twitched. Then his fingers. Ganondorf leaned over him just as Shadow's eyes fluttered open. Ganondorf grinned. The heart machine turned itself off as it realized Shadow's heart had restarted beating on its own, and his lungs had begun to breathe on their own. Ganondorf removed the oxygen apparatus. Shadow glanced around in sleepy confusion. "Who . . ."

"It's me, Shadow," Ganondorf answered excitedly, his heart pounding painfully in happiness, "It's your father."

"I know that," the teen responded smart-alecly, making Ganondorf smile sardonically. Then Shadow continued,

"I _mean_ , who was singing?"

* * *

AN: : 3 Thanks for following/faving/reviewing!


	15. Chapter 15

AN: Finally it's getting happy again!

Also, sorry it's a day late D: It's super long so I hope that makes up for it?

* * *

Chapter Things Get Back to Normal

Groose was having a bad day. He had just found out that Zelda, smart, classy, stylish, beautiful Zelda, was dressing up _as a guy_. He'd gone on a date with that . . . uh . . . very confused person? Girl? Did that mean he'd dated a guy? Not that Groose was necessarily _against_ that sort of thing, he guessed, having never really thought about it, but he himself wasn't gay. Or anything. He was all about the girls.

Zelda, specifically.

Or had been, anyway.

Still, he didn't think it was fair, all this negative attention. Even dressed as a guy Zelda rocked fashion. That hipster hat! Totes fabuleau. And it didn't change all the OTHER things that made Zelda Zelda. Like, she was still super nice (except to him, but that was forgivable—he'd win her over one day!), she was super talented, and everyone looked up to her. He kept trying to get her to come to his Loftwing games (he was the star player), but she never did. Just like she never answered his fan letters to her.

Well okay, coming to high school had been a very maturing thing for Groose. In the last few months he'd kinda come to realize that sort of bombarding and nigh stalking continuously wasn't exactly the best way to go about wooing a girl.

So what? Was he supposed to get mad at his middle school self?

He knew much better now.

Lying to the teacher that he needed to use the bathroom (he actually needed to fix his hair), he took the hall pass from the teacher and escaped from class. Normally he would wait for his buddies to also excuse themselves so they could admire his pointy pompadour hair-styling skills, but right now he kinda felt like being alone to think.

He pushed open the bathroom door and immediately heard the crying. He walked further in and found a boy in a blue button-up shirt and baggy jeans leaned over a counter, hands gripping his hair. He didn't look familiar, so Groose wondered if he was a new student, or . . .

Wait. He'd seen this "boy" earlier today.

" _Zelda?_ What are you doing in the _boy's_ bathroom?"

The "boy" jerked up with a gasp. "What?" She looked around and noticed the urinals. ". . . Oh. I didn't mean to." She sniffed and began wiping her eyes furiously.

Then Groose noticed the hair. The floor around Zelda's feet was covered with it, locks and locks of it. A pair of crafting scissors lay on the sink. What was left of Zelda's hair was only a few inches long, barely hanging past her ears, and way shorter in the back. It was a mess. "Whoa. What happened?"

"N-nothing. You know what? I'm just gonna clean this up and, and go." Zelda's voice was still clogged and shaky. She grabbed a couple paper towels to use as a makeshift broom.

"No here, I can do it!" Groose took the towels from her suddenly and crouched. "Uh . . . this floor is disgusting."

"Yeah, kinda is."

"So . . ." he glanced up, still having not started cleaning the mess. "You wanna ditch and get a haircut?"

Zelda met his eyes. "Huh?"

Groose blushed. "No offense, but . . . your hair sucks. I can't let my princess run around looking like THAT."

Zelda cringed a bit and scratched the back of her head, glancing shiftily away. "Oh, I don't know, I don't really want a girl's haircut."

Groose stood up and pointed at her head. "I don't know WHAT that is, but it is NOT human! I know a guy who does good guy haircuts." He stroked his own hair proudly. "As you can so _clearly_ see."

Zelda's mouth twitched, but she didn't roll her eyes, politely. "So, you don't care that I . . . want to look like a guy?"

"Oh, I don't care about that! You ROCK in men's clothing! I'm sure you'll look good with a guy-do, too. Come on!" He gestured to the door and began walking to the door.

"But I mean . . ." Zelda interrupted, "you don't care that I want to BE a boy?"

Groose paused in midstep and turned his head around. This was all way over his head. So he shrugged, nice and big.

Zelda suddenly gave the tiniest, most timid of chuckles, which made Groose smile in the most ridiculously pleased way. "Okay," Zelda said, uncertainly.

"Yay!" He wouldn't admit it, but he would be MUCH HAPPIER when Zelda looked super awesome again, so he wanted to get that hair fixed as soon as possible. "And those clothes," he said as they left the bathroom and he strode down the hall, "Are they the only male clothes you have? They're the same ones as in the picture."

Zelda had to take two quick steps for every Groose step just to keep up with him. "Well . . . they sort of all belong to a younger version of Link."

"Oh I get it. Link always looks like a lump-a-dump because you steal all his good clothes."

"Hehe. It's not like he'd ever wear them, anyway." Suddenly she laughed through her choked throat. "Are we really skipping the rest of school?"

"So what? It's last period anyway, and it's not like you were actually participating anyway."

Sheik flushed, knowing he was right, then replied, "But YOUR grades . . ."

"Pffft! I'm the captain of the Loftwing team and my dad is rich-like everybody else's here. Not the first time I ditched for a fashion emergency."

"I never took you as a hooky."

"Hardly. But there is NO WAY you are going to class with THAT hairdo. Oh, also!" They had stopped by Groose's locker. He opened it and pulled out a crumpled up blue hat. "I got this from that tall loser guy. It's yours, right?"

Zelda stared at the hat. It was hers. She hid her face behind her fists again as more tears threatened to fall.

"Are you okay, Zelda?!"

"Darn . . . hormones! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" She buried her face in Groose's chest and started wailing.

 _HOLYCRAPHOLYCRAPHOLYCUCCOONASTICKSHEISCRYINGONMECRYINGONMEOMG!_

 _WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! She finally succumbed to your manly charms and is looking to you for affection! Dumb idiot!_

Groose put his arms around her awkwardly and patted her on the head. She was soooooo short . . . and, like, a third his size. He felt bad for grinning as the moment lasted longer than a minute.

And then the moment lasted longer.

"Um . . ." Groose began to say. "So, this is sort of awkward."

Zelda jumped away. "Sorry! Sorry, I just . . . man, I dunno. These eyes just wanna keep crying like a Zoran fountain."

Groose gave her a sound pat on the back. "That's okay. You're a cute crier."

"Aaw, thanks. I think."

They walked outside of the school and almost immediately came upon a problem.

"Uh-oh," said Zelda. "Paparazzi."

Groose raised himself to his full height. "Don't worry. Just stay by me."

The next photos the tabloids got were of a giant, posing, muscle-flexing Groose, and a teeny little blondie hiding behind his arm, or leg, or hair, covering his face with his hat and palms toward the camera.

* * *

"But GRANDMA-"

Granny wagged a finger in the air. "No buts about it! You can't even DRIVE and you want me to be okay with you having a boyfriend?! No! No, young man, no!"

"But GRANDMA-"

"Nooooo! You will wait until you are at LEAST sixteen before you start dating anybody, much less having a BOYFRIEND."

Link groaned loudly. "You just don't understand!" He stomped up the stairs and into his room, slamming the door behind. He belly-flopped onto his bed and grumbled, realizing this had just proved what a child he was. "AAAAAAAAUGH!" he screamed embarrassingly into his pillow.

* * *

"She said I can't be your boyfriend because I can't _drive_."

Shad blinked. "What? You can't . . . _what?_ "

"I know! It's so stupid."

"But I don't get it, what does she mean?"

Link sighed dramatically. He and Shad were taking a lunch break during an excursion. Mr. Darunia was packing up the jeep while they ate (he said he hated watching Hylians eat stuff that wasn't rocks—like literally even the candy he brought for the boys was chocolate in the shape of rocks. Chocolate rocks!) "I guess she thinks I'm not responsible enough for a relationship," Link explained. "Or not mature enough." He shrugged, staring at the half-eaten sandwich Granny had lovingly made and packed for him this morning.

"Well, that's actually kind of sweet."

Link gave him a withering stare. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, at least she cares enough to set a boundary. She must really care about you."

"Yeah, I guess," Link replied, unconvinced.

Shad elbowed him. "Don't worry. I'll wait until you're sixteen to date you. Although . . . then I'll be eighteen, so that might actually not work."

Link sank into his hoodie, hiding his face behind the sandwich like it represented the shackles on his freedoms. "My life is ruined!"

* * *

Ganondorf sat in an armchair by Shadow's hospital bed. Shadow had just gotten finished with multiple tests and prodding by doctors who couldn't understand how he was still alive and breathing on his own. "Dad, what's wrong with me?" Shadow asked as he ate the less-than-tasty applesauce the nurse had given him for lunch. "Why do I have heart problems?"

He'd heard several frightening things. He'd had some heart attack, it might limit his actions, he might have one _again_ . . . he just wanted the truth!

Ganondorf leaned forward on his seat, setting his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands. "Do you remember how your mother died?"

"Yeah, she died giving birth to me."

"Yes, but do you know _why?_ "

Shadow thought for a moment, then shook his head. "There were complications, but I don't remember what they were."

Ganondorf nodded. "What your mother and I didn't know when she conceived you is that she had an underlying problem—a heart condition. In vitro can sometimes cause heart problems to surface and . . . she died of a heart attack. We were able to save you two boys, but not her."

Shadow touched his sore chest. "Am I gonna die?"

"NO!" Ganondorf snapped, then checked himself. Quieter, he said, "No. You won't. I—I won't allow it."

Shadow relaxed, but only a little. "Are you sure? My chest hurts. A lot."

"It's going to for a while, I'm afraid. You inherited your mother's . . . condition, but a much worse version. When you were a baby, the doctors said you wouldn't survive longer than a week."

"What do I _have?_ "

"A complex heart defect similar to tetrology of fallot."

". . . okay."

"It's basically an amalgamation of serious heart defects."

". . . amalgamation."

Ganondorf pinched the bridge of his nose. "What are they teaching you in school? It means a lot of things combined."

"Oh. Okay. So I don't have just one heart problem, I've got ten." He fell back on his pillows. "But I'm not gonna die."

"No."

"How do you know that? Mom died."

"Because . . ." Ganondorf's knuckles were white, he was clasping them so hard. "I won't let that happen!"

The room door opened, and a Hylian doctor came in, holding a note pad. "Okay, Mr. Dragmire, young Mr. Dragmire," she said, closing the door. "How are we feeling?"

"Fine," said Ganondorf.

"Dying," said Shadow.

The doctor gave a tiny smile. "Well, luckily, you are _not_ going to die, Shadow. However, if you want to avoid that completely, you're going to have to make a few lifestyle changes."

"Like what?"

She sat in the remaining chair to level with him. "Your heart, even though it's . . . somehow managed to start beating again, is still heavily damaged from the attack. Now, it will get _better_ , with treatment, but it will always be weaker than it was."

Shadow was getting a very bad feeling. "So what changes do you mean?" His voice sounded like a child's, knowing something bad was coming but unable to stop or change it.

"You'll have to regulate your food, and do only limited exercise. You won't be able to do any extreme workouts—weights, sprinting, that sort of thing."

"Skateboarding?" Shadow's heart was already racing a little, and every breath hurt.

". . . I'm afraid not. I'm sorry."

"For how long?"

Her eyebrows raised sympathetically. "Considering the condition of your heart . . . probably for the rest of your life."

Shadow's jaw dropped. _No more skateboarding? What about running around with my friends? Is THAT too much?_ He thought about wrestling with Link. He thought about chasing around with Sheik in the cafeteria. He thought about skating with Skull Kid. _What am I gonna tell them?_ How was he going to sneak up to people and surprise them if doing so was going to make his stupid heart die? He already felt dead! He raised his hands and dropped his face into them.

"We'll have a physical therapist work with you to get some healthy workouts for you. We'll also get you a heart monitor so you can learn to watch your own heart rate at home . . ."

The doctor's voice had stopped making sense the minute she said "for the rest of your life." Shadow didn't care. Whatever she was saying, Dad could take care of it.

* * *

"But GRANDMA, everyone at school says they date at fourteen!" No, Link was not finished trying yet.

"Well MY daughter didn't," Granny replied, hands on her hips, "And she turned out fine. So I don't see why you should be any different!"

"But that was _ages ago_." Okay, maybe reminding Granny that she was _old_ wasn't the smartest idea.

"It worked for _her_ , and she's the only reason your father stopped being all crazy!"

Link was about to counter her, but then he said, "Dad was crazy?"

Granny face palmed. "I'm sorry, Link. I don't mean to speak badly about your father—"

Link sat at the kitchen counter. They were arguing in the kitchen. Aryll was listening from the living room with interest. "No, no!" Link said. "I wanna know about Dad." He grinned. "How was he crazy?"

Granny gave a sad smile and also sat down. She seemed to be considering something carefully. "Well, he'd never had a stable job in his life before he met your mother. Drove like a maniac, went to wild parties, wore outlandish clothing, would never call back, and was especially bad with money."

Link chuckled. "Really?" It seemed unbelievable. He thought of his dad, how he always came home—from the same job—dressed in a smart suit. Link and Aryll were not allowed to tell rowdy jokes at dinner. Dad was always there if they needed him. Like, always. Even during work hours. They had really nice cars, and trust funds, a nice house, and he'd seen his parents budget more than once. Thus it brought up Link's obvious question: "Why?"

Granny sighed. "Your father had no family of his own. His was a foster child, which you know. He had several foster parents but never an actual home. I guess he just never learned how to have a permanent life. Aside from that, I don't know. He was very guarded about his past. How he ended up with—" She broke off suddenly and glanced at him, then shook her head. "Never mind. There were things. Things my daughter saw in him. Little things, but over time they grew into big things—responsibility, stability—to be honest I was quite nervous when she started dating him!"

"Wow."

"But she was right, in the end. Your father was a very respectable man." Here she got an extremely soft look in her eyes as she looked right at Link. "It just took the right people to teach him that."

"Like Mom?"

Granny nodded. "Yes . . . and you. Something about having you made him want to stop running."

"Gosh . . ." Link didn't know what to say. Honestly, his father had always been a mysterious figure to him. He had felt safe with his dad around, but at the same time, he never really knew him.

Granny stood up. "Here, I think I have ONE picture from those days, let me see . . ." She went into her crafting room and Link heard her rustle around a bit. Link got himself a glass of milk. When Granny came back, she held a small photograph. She handed it to Link.

Link almost choked on his milk when he saw it. "Dad used to be _blond?!_ "

"Yes, he was a natural blond, did you not know that?"

"No!" Link shook his head. "It was always black! I always thought I got my hair from Mom."

Granny inspected his head. "No, your mother's hair was more like Aryll's."

Link looked at Aryll—she was still listening in dead, acute silence. Her hair was thinner, silkier, and a brighter blond, almost white blond. His own hair was more like clumps of golden tangles—

—Shut up, so what if he stole that phrase from Shad? It was awesome!

"And what is he WEARING?" Link's dad wore a vest of some sort with ripped off sleeves, a headband on his forehead, and basically looked like some sort of rebel wannabe. He had strong features, which Link still remembered, and his heart hurt when he looked into his dad's striking eyes. _I miss you, Dad_.

Granny seemed to notice his change of mood. "You should keep it."

Link smiled. "Thanks, Grandma . . ." He jumped off the stool and hurried across the entry to the living room. "Hey Aryll! You wanna see a picture of Dad?"

Aryll stood on her tip toes and over Link's arms as he showed it to her. Her face showed some brief recognition. "Daddy?"

Link laughed. "Yeah! Doesn't he look silly?"

Aryll didn't understand. She just clapped and repeated, "Daddy!"

* * *

Sheik was afraid to go inside, but she had to face her parents at some point. She had a brand new haircut, brand new clothes and more in a bag to her side. She had protested when Groose insisted he pay for everything, but it turned out his father owned all the stores and so Groose was getting them pretty much for free anyway. Groose had dropped her off, but he was still parked by the curb, watching Sheik anxiously. Sheik realized, touched, that he was waiting to see how it went with his parents before leaving, in case . . . in case the worst happened and Sheik needed a place to stay.

Just then, her phone rang. She couldn't believe what the screen said. "Hello?!"

"Sheik? . . . Sheik, I want help."

Sheik gripped her phone with the strength of a titan! "SHADOW?! SHADOW IS THAT YOU? OH MY GODDESS I'VE BEEN SO FRIGGIN WORRIED! HOW ARE YOU?"

"Mmm, not good." His voice was so quiet, and it sounded clogged up, like he'd been . . . like he'd been . . .

"Wait, are you dying?"

"No. Well not really."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN NOT REALLY? SHADOW ARE YOU DYING?!"

"Could you just come?" His voice shook. "Please?"

"Okay. Okay definitely! Let me just text Link and—"

"No! Just . . . just come alone, okay?"

Sheik knitted his brows in worry. "Okay. I'm coming. I'm coming right now, okay, Shadow?"

A choked up voice replied, "'Kay."

Sheik waited for Shadow to hang up, then sprinted to Groose's car. "I need one more favor!"

Groose blinked.

* * *

Shadow saw Sheik through his room's window. The prince barged in noisily and ran straight for his bed. "SHADOW!" Then he paused two inches from hugging him. "CAN I HUG YOU? CAN I? IS THAT OKAY?"

Shadow had his arms held out. "Yes, please!"

Sheik squeezed him, but not too hard. "I thought . . . I thought I might never see you again!"

"Sorry for making you worry." When they pulled away, they both had to wipe tears from their eyes. Then Shadow looked Sheik up and down. "You're not . . . dressed as Zelda."

A pink blush reached Sheik's cheeks. "Oh. Yeah. Long story. Crazy week, tabloids, parental meltdowns, you know."

"What happened?"

Sheik squinted his eyes and put his hands on his hips. "Oooooh no! We're not changing the subject. The subject is YOU! And YOU, Shadow Dragmire, are GOING to tell me whether or not you are going to die and WHAT is going on and what happened to you!"

* * *

Sheik had ended up seated on the bed next to Shadow as Shadow retold everything the doctors and his father had said. Sheik had his arms around Shadow while Shadow sobbed. It was so hard for Shadow to speak because of his heart. He had to take several breaks.

When he finished, Sheik said, "Shadow, that's awful."

"What am I gonna do?"

Sheik braved a smirk. "I mean, you KNOW we're still gonna be friends, right?"

It worked. Shadow smiled slightly. "I know. I love you, Sheik."

"I love you, too, Shadow." He put his arms around Shadow. "Don't you ever die on me."

"I'll try." He sniffed one more time, then pulled out his phone, trying to compose himself. "Hey, have you heard from Vaati at all? I haven't got any messages from him, and that's super weird."

"He had this strange boyfriend in the waiting room. I think his name was 'Ghiri' or something like that."

"Yeah, he has a boyfriend named Ghiri last I heard, but that was weeks ago."

"Well call 'im!"

Shadow nodded and dialed. He held the phone to his ear. After a few seconds, he frowned at Sheik. "It says it's been disconnected." He checked the number and tried again. Shook his head.

"Weird," Sheik notes.

"I'll have to catch him on Hylian Messenger then. Or Skyte."

"Do you have his boyfriend's number?"

"No, he never gave me that . . ." He finally put his phone away, thinking. "He . . . hasn't really told me anything about him, really."

They sat in silence for a while.

"So . . ." Sheik began. "What're we gonna tell Link?"

"Can you tell him?"

"Sure! You just leave it to me! How long do you have to be in the hospital?"

"The doctor says I can go home over the weekend, actually."

"Oh good!" Sheik looked visibly relieved. "It'll be nice to be in your own bed, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess. I'm gonna have to be on bed rest for a few weeks, though. _Ugh_."

"Don't worry, I'll keep you company! I'll visit you every day! I'm sure Link will, too."

Shadow's eyes were beginning to droop. He settled back into his pillow, but his hand clutched Sheik's arm as if to make sure he didn't disappear. "Hey Sheik?"

"Yeah?"

". . . did you come to visit me? When I was unconscious?"

"Y-yeah. Why?"

"Just . . . that makes me feel better, is all. I'm sorry I missed your singing, at your parents' party."

"Oh you didn't miss it. You bailed me out of that by needing to go to the hospital." His face was NOT amused. "Though I really hate the method you used to get me out of doing it."

"WON'T be repeated! EVER again."

"Good. Well . . . you'd better rest so you CAN go home over the weekend."

"I don't wanna. I wanna hear about you."

"You're already half asleep."

"But I don't wanna be . . ."

Sheik chuckled. He leaned over and kissed Shadow's forehead. The gesture seemed . . . familiar to Shadow. _Huh. I wonder why?_

"Have a good sleep, Shadow."

"Sheik . . . will you stay?"

"Pfffft, as if I wouldn't."

The stress began to leave Shadow's face, and he gave a smile before he could hold his eyes open no longer.

A small happy smile graced Sheik's face, as though he liked very much the idea of being needed. He settled against the bed, holding Shadow's hand the entire time.

* * *

AN: Thanks for reading, reviewing, favoriting and following! Your feedback makes me soooo happy! :)


	16. Chapter 16

AN: I am soooooo sorry! I've been fighting the most terrible cold and was studying for midterms the last two weeks, so that's why there were no updates last week =.=; HOWEVER! Expect two chapters next week to make up for it :)

I wanted to write more in this chapter, but I got tired, so . . . the "more" will be next week!

Suggested soundtrack: IT'S HALLOWEEN. Youtube "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor (Best Version Ever)" Skip to 2:40 for the fugue because honestly I find the toccata boring.

* * *

"So . . . when the the last time you cleaned your room?" Sheik asked, staring at the mayhem of Shadow's room. He had attacked one corner of the clothing bed and realized he had barely scratched the surface.

"Don't recall," Shadow answered from the living room couch. Sheik had made him swear he wouldn't enter the germ fest of his room until it had been sanitized to Sheik's Royal Specifications.

Sheik grabbed something green with frogs on it. With a mighty tug it came free. "What the—Shadow, this looks like it fits a toddler."

Shadow leaned over to look. "Oh yeah! My frog pajamas! Those were so cool!"

"Oh my deku nuts."

Sheik started taking everything out of Shadow's room and sorting it into piles in the living room.

A half hour later, Shadow took his nose out of a book long enough to comment, "I don't think this is getting any better."

Sheik stared at the mountains of stuff in the living room. "It's like your room is the Tardis."

"Now THAT would be cool." Shadow went back to reading. Sheik went back to cleaning.

A few hours later Link walked through the open front door. "Sorry I'm late! Promise this was the last job for a while."

"Link-O!" Shadow called. "We've discovered the Tardis in my room."

"The what?"

Sheik gasped, then rushed over and patted Link's shoulder sympathetically. "You poor soul."

"O . . . kay?"

"Come on, help me lift these containers."

"What, not man enough?" Link teased.

"Don't make me zap you with my Goddess powers, little human."

"Point taken."

As the noise of their voices left the living room, Shadow's ears picked up something entirely different. A deep, wooshy sound that was quite awesome. Actually, lots of them.

It sounded like an organ. Like an actual real life wind and bone keys pipe organ. Shadow stood and closed his book.

There was a door that Shadow had never gone into. It resided in the living room. Well, that door was open, and the music was coming out of it. Shadow wandered into it and followed a short hallway until he reached a giant chamber. The music echoed around the cavernous space. The walls had pillars and the ceiling was decorated with ornamental sculpting, floral patterns that just went on and on. Before Shadow was a long path to the other end of the room. The opposite wall was absolutely covered with metal pipes, twisting and turning all over each other, some shaped like the faces of gargoyles, their mouths the openings the air came out of. At the base of this enormous wall was the organ's keyboard and controls, and playing it was Ganondorf, sitting on the bench lightly, his arms flashing across the keyboard as his head nodded as if conducting his movements.

Shadow made his way to the organ, jaw dropped. When he got there, he just stood next to Ganondorf and watched his fingers fly.

Ganondorf played one final trill in the right hand, and then one more all encompassing chord. Then he removed his hands, and everything fell silent.

"YOU HAVE AN ORGAN," said Shadow.

The look of admiration on the boy's face took Ganondorf by surprise, so much the King of Evil actually flushed. "I . . . I haven't played since before your mother died."

"YOU PLAY THE ORGAN AND YOU NEVER TOLD ME."

"I . . . didn't think this style of music was your thing."

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?"

". . . No. But in that case," he grinned, "How would you like to go to the Zora Symphony tonight?"

Shadow gaped. "ARE YOU SERIOUS?! YES!"

"Alright. We'll leave at six."

Shadow speed-walked back to the living room, minding his heart. He went in search of Sheik, and grabbed the prince. "SHEIK. WE'RE GOING TO A SYMPHONY."

"What."

"I SAID WE'RE GOING TO A SYMPHONY."

"I know what you said. What."

Shadow pulled Sheik towards him so their faces were mere inches apart. "SHEIK. WE ARE GOING TO A SYMPHONY."

Link set down a box of stuff and slapped his hands together as if to get rid of dirt. "What are you talking about?"

* * *

"Hey Nabs, look at this!"

The next day at the Lon Lon Cafe, Midna sat reading the daily gossip magazines as usual. It was Sunday, and Nabooru always worked as a waitress on Sundays, so Midna always hung out there.

The next time she had a minute, Nabooru went over to see what Midna was pointing out. How Midna was able to discern the truth from the mountain of lies in he media made Nabooru jealous, being a journalist and all. She leaned her hands on Midna's table, looking down at the page Midna held open.

Midna tapped it with a sharp fingernail and quoted, "'CEO and Mysterious Son Enjoy Zora Symphony." The page boasted a grainy photo of Ganondorf and Shadow sitting in a wing in the opera house. Shadow had both hands over his mouth and looked really emotional.

"Hm," Nabooru said. "I guess the secret is out that Shadow's Ganondorf's kid."

"That's not all. The whole article is about the 'corruption' of the Royal house of Hyrule. Look over here, Sheik's sitting next to Shadow."

Nabooru made a noise of irritation. "Why do you call her that?"

Midna shrugged. "Is it really that big of a deal? So she wants to be a guy."

"It's completely stupid. She's a woman!"

Mida puckered her lips, but said nothing. She flipped to the next page. "People are getting really angry. They think that Sheik—fine, sorry . . . _Zelda_ has been corrupted by Ganondorf, and they're afraid the Royal Family will disintegrate along with all of Hyrule's traditions if it's allowed to continue."

Nabooru slammed her fist on the table, startling some nearby guests. "That is so racist! Just because Gandondorf is a Gerudo doesn't automatically mean he's out to get Hyrule! Jeez, honestly! I doubt he had ANYTHING to do with Zelda's problems."

"Well, she did 'come out' a few months after getting to know Shadow, so . . ."

"Tch!"

"Hey waitress, can I get a refill?"

Nabooru shoved herself off the table to go help customer.

Midna went back to reading. She didn't think Ganondorf had anything to do with Sheik, either. However, she also knew how people would find any excuse to explain what they didn't understand. So, was Sheik telling the truth, or was Zelda under a terrible spell?

* * *

"Zelda? I—I mean, Sheik?" Mrs. Harkinian's timid face appeared around the corner of the hallway.

Sheik looked up from her homework. "Yes, Mom?"

Mrs. Harkinian came around the corner, clasping her hands and asked in a cautious, careful voice and a trepidatious smile, "I was just wondering . . . it's the first of the month. Do you . . . still want to go shopping? It's okay if not, and if there's something else you'd rather do, we can do that instead."

Sheik smiled. "No, no, shopping is good!" Sheik, or, well, Zelda and her mother had a tradition of shopping on the first weekend of every month. Now Mrs. Harkinian wanted that to continue, even though it would be with Sheik. In a way, it had always been with Sheik, but now she was at least aware of it.

Sheik put down his homework and stood. "Can we get ice cream?"

"Sure! And I was thinking, ah . . . do you want to watch a sports game? Or maybe play soccer, or, well . . ."

Sheik chuckled. "I'm still the same person, Mama. I'm just not a girl. I like manicures and glitter and all that other stuff." Secret desires began to rise up in his chest, however. He hadn't been lying, but at the same time it was easy to forget there WERE some things he wished he could have done, but girls were always discouraged from doing them. "C-could we go the a Sumo Wrestling Dojo? I've always wanted to try that."

Mrs. Harkinian blinked, then burst out laughing in quite an unladylike way. "Oh my!" She exclaimed. "I always wanted to try that when I was little, too, but I never had the guts because the boys would make fun of me!" She giggled like a little girl. "And then we can get manicures afterwards."

"I think I'll have them paint little triforces on my fingers . . ."

* * *

Midna's heart thumped. _I shouldn't be here_. But Zelda hadn't been in school, and, well, Midna hadn't been the nicest to her. It was out of shock, really, but Midna still wanted to apologize. She didn't know what was up with Sheik, but she DID know it was none of her business, and she should be supporting her friend!

Still, coming to Royal Court was not the brightest idea, was it?

The ties between the Hylians and Twili was still very tentative. She'd never been to Sheik's home, or even in her neighborhood. Midna's people lived in the run-down side of town in a little community all their own, secluded from everyone else. The war between Hyrule and the Twili had been over for a century, but there was still a huge bias against Twilis. It was quite possible she wouldn't be welcome here. However, she was the representative of her people. She had a reputation to uphold. She had to let the Hylians know she wasn't scared of them.

Her parents died when she was young. That's why she'd been handed the responsibility of representing her people, but that didn't stop certain Twili from trying to steal the title from her. Especially that Zant guy.

Her fists clenched tightly.

Bolstering her courage, Midna strode up the long pathway to the huge castle thing that was Sheik's home, and knocked on the door. A butler answered, and although he eyed her suspiciously, he let her in reluctantly.

She found Mr. Harkinian in the welcome room. "Hello, Johannes."

Mr. Harkinian's eyes squinted. "You have a lot of gall coming here, Twilight Princess. I let you be friends with my daughter. How dare you speak to me so casually."

Midna threw up her hands and sighed. "What? It's not as if you or I actually have any political power anymore. Why CAN'T we be on a first name basis? I call all my friends' parents by their first names. Why are you so special, Johannes?"

"Why are you here?"

"I came to talk to . . ." She considered. If Johannes didn't agree with Sheik's decision, should Midna call him Sheik or call him Zelda so that Johannes would let her in without any more trouble? "Zelda," she decided.

"My daughter is not in right now," said Johannes.

"Oh. Well I'll come back later."

"You may not," Johannes retorted. "Stay away from Zelda. Keep your dark magic and bad attitude to yourself! If you dare come here again, I will call the guards."

"Are you _trying_ to be racist or am I imagining it, Johannes? Zelda's old enough to decide who her friends are, isn't she?"

"Don't read into my intentions! My thoughts are only to protect my daughter—"

"Okay, enough with the lies," Midna interjected. "His name is Sheik and you should respect that."

Johannes bristled. "Leave, Midna!"

"Oh ho! Who's dropping official titles _now_?" She held up a hand. "Don't worry, if Zelda's not here, I've no desire to stay." She turned on her heel and walked back to the front door, which was held open by a smug-looking butler who was quite happy to see her off. She paused right before crossing the threshold. "Hey, Johannes."

Johannes bristled at the name, again, as Midna knew he would. Her mouth curled up in a wicked grin. "Sheik will make a better king than you ever will."

She left the house before Johannes could muster up a decent reply.

* * *

AN: I PROMISE Mr. Harkinian isn't as bad as he appears to be .


	17. Chapter 17

AN: Next chapter will go up tomorrow (Sunday)! :)

Suggested Soundtrack: Christina Perri-Human

* * *

Turns out, Sheik was a LOUD shower singer. Link had come over right after school and was trying to do homework while Sheik took a shower. After having to restart the same problem three times, during which he was interrupted by a belted "WHOOOOAAOOAOAOAAOOOAAAAAAA!" he finally shut his books and yelled back, "YOU MAY NOT BE A GIRL BUT YOU SURE SHOWER AS LONG AS ONE!"

The singing stopped, and Sheik snapped, "I WILL HURT YOU, SIR!"

"Gotta get dry first!" He grabbed Sheik's plushie triforce and tossed it up in the air, then catching it. Before he knew it, he was hanging upside down from Sheik's giant purple bed, the blood rushing to his face as he kept tossing the triforce and singing along with Sheik.

Eventually Sheik appeared, clean and dressed up in sweat pants and a blue hoodie with the Hylian Phoenix on the front. He sat on the bed next to Link, who pulled himself up. "So . . . Shadow says he won't be able to play in the band next Saturday. His chest is still too sore to be doing that much movement."

Link frowned. "Yeah, he told me, too. Says it hurts to play longer than five minutes."

"So . . . Do we play without him?"

"I dunno. I guess I could fake both guitar parts, but it won't sound nearly awesome."

"I don't think there's anything we can do about that, since we don't have Shadow."

"Man, this sucks!" Link flopped backwards onto the bed.

"Yeah," Sheik agreed, "I was really looking forward to this. But maybe it's just as well."

"Whaddaya mean?"

Sheik grabbed a Deku plushie and hugged it self consciously. "I dunno if it's a good idea for me to be doing anything public, what with . . . you know, all that's going on."

"You mean somebody leaking the fact your transgender all over social media every freakin' where?" Link had to admit, he was more than a little angry about that. Who would do such a thing that would cause so much hurt?

"Yeah."

Link sat back up. "Are you coming back to school soon?"

Sheik's eyebrows knitted further together, and he bit his lip. "I dunno," he answered quietly.

Link fiddled with his fingers restlessly. "Well . . . I think you should do whatever you would do anyways. I mean, I don't care, I'm your friend whatever happens you know, and I don't think you should hide. That's not fair. You shouldn't have to hide at all."

Sheik braved a smile, but it was tight. "Thanks Link. I'm . . . sorry for all the trouble and worry I've caused."

Link's eyelids lowered halfway and he gave Sheik an 'are you serious?' face. "What in Din's name are you apologizing for?"

"Whoa! Dude, language . . ."

"Well what the CRAP, Sheik! There's nothing for you to be sorry about!" Link stood. "That's it! You and me! No matter what happens to the band, WE are gonna perform together, got it?"

"Uh-um, I don't know as that's—"

"GOT IT?"

". . . Yes."

"Good." He sat back down. He folded his arms. His voice caught a bit as he finished, "And don't ever apologize to me like that again. I can't take it."

"Okay . . . sorry—I MEAN—!"

Link pounced, catching Sheik in a headlock and ruffling his hair like he was a little kid. "DAAARN YOOOOOOU!"

Sheik laughed. "Hahaha! Stop—AHAHAHAHA!"

* * *

ShAdOwStEaLeR397: heeeeeey!

W1nds0rc3r3r: hi wat up

Shadow was shocked. Vaati hadn't replied in FOREVER. He quickly kept typing.

ShAdOwStEaLeR397: just tryin not 2 become a redead

W1nds0rc3r3r: haha

ShAdOwStEaLeR397: wat bout u

ShAdOwStEaLeR397: wat u up 2

. . .

ShAdOwStEaLeR397: v?

W1nds0rc3r3r: sry was paying 4 food

ShAdOwStEaLeR397: food?

ShAdOwStEaLeR397: u ignoring curfew again?

W1nds0rc3r3r: no im not at skool

ShAdOwStEaLeR397: huh

ShAdOwStEaLeR397: where r u

W1nds0rc3r3r: just nothin dont wanna talk bout it

W1nds0rc3r3r: gtg

W1nds0rc3r3r: bye

ShAdOwStEaLeR397: wait wats goin on

ShAdOwStEaLeR397: v

. . .

. . . . . .

. . . . . . . . .

ShAdOwStEaLeR397: VAATI! #$%

* * *

Shadow's phone rang several times before somebody picked up.

"Hyrule Academy for Boys. How can I help you?"

"Hi! Yeah, this is Shadow, I'm wondering if you can patch me into Vaati Winder's dorm?"

"Give me one minute." A few keyboard clicks. "Um, I'm sorry, but Vaati is not currently on the premises."

"Do you know when he'll be back?"

"I'm afraid Mr. Winder has been suspended."

"What?! Why?"

"His record shows he hasn't shown up for class in . . . weeks."

"But how can that . . . o-okay. Um. Thank you." Shadow hung up before the receptionist could reply. _Where are you, V? What are you doing?_

He jumped to the computer in his newly clean room—yes he had a computer in his room. If he tried anything silly on it, Dad would know right away! Sometimes Shadow cursed his father's techno capabilities . . . All the time. He logged in and quickly went to HyruleSpace. Vaati's page hadn't been updated in weeks. Shadow searched through his friends list, looking for anybody that might fit "Ghiri's" description. He found him eventually, and immediately got the willies. _Ew. This guy looks as creepy as Link and Sheik said!_

Maybe that was just because the guy gave him a bad feeling about V . . . the guy's name was Ghirahim Daemonlord. What a name. Looking through a few public photos he could see why Vaati crushed on the guy. So many fabulous clothes . . . it was a bit much for Shadow's taste, though.

Again, maybe that was Shadow's bias talking.

He clicked on 'send a message' on Ghirahim's page and wrote, "hey dude you vaati's boyfriend?"

Shadow waited for several minutes, heart pounding.

Finally, Ghirahim replied, "oh I know you. You're Vaati's little friend from the hospital."

Shadow's fingers flashed across the keyboard. "Yes! Where is Vaati? What is up with that guy? His phone is disconnected and he's not at school."

"Oh yeah," Ghirahim replied, "I made him get a new number, and he's not going to school anymore }=)"

"What, why? Can you give me his new number?"

"Yes."

After several minutes, Shadow typed, "Okay . . . what is it?"

" }:) "

"That's not funny Ghirahim, give it to me!"

"Aaaw, somebody feeling jealous?"

"no im worried. why won't you give me his number?"

"If he wanted you to have it, he'd have given it to you himself."

"Why do I get the feeling that's not true?"

"I don't know. Why do you?"

"I don't like you, Ghirahim."

"Haha, should I be scared?"

Shadow's mouth fumbled for a bit, then he typed, "YES!"

 _*Ghirahim has left the conversation*_

Shadow slammed his fist on the desk. "UGH!" Then regretted it as his chest seized in pain and he spent the next few moments catching his breath.

For the hundredth time, he left a message on Vaati's page: _WHERE R U!_

A noise in the background let Shadow know someone had entered through the front door. He heard Link talking to his Dad, so he got up from his desk and went out to greet him. "Hey Link!"

Link grinned back brightly. "Hey! How are you doing?"

"Ooooh, I feel old, is all."

Ganondorf cocked a brow as they snickered.

"You wanna play video games?" Shadow asked, but before Link could answer, Ganondorf held an arm between them.

"No! Do you remember? Link hasn't come here to goof around, Shadow, he's here to WORK. Follow me, Link."

Link nodded, and gave Shadow an apologetic shrug before following the King of Evil to his office.

Shadow pouted. He folded his arms. "And I thought Link coming over here every day was going to be FUN!" In rebellion, he followed after the two.

"Shadow, go back to your room," Ganondorf said.

"Why?" Shadow slipped into Ganondorf's chair. "I can rest in here and watch you and Link work. Is that a problem?"

"Yes. I don't need you _distracting_ my employee every two minutes."

"I promise I'll be COMPLETELY silent!"

"No."

"Pleeeeeeease?!"

"If Link gets distracted I'll have to fire him. Do you want that?"

Shadow's pout deepened. "NO. Fine." He stood up unhappily and made his very unhappy way back to his unhappy room and sat on his unhappy bed.

"WHOA—HEY careful! You almost sat on me."

Shadow twisted around and found Sheik sitting on his bed. Shadow opened his arms and jumped at his friend. "SHEEEEEEEEEIK!" He hugged him tightly. "Somebody to keep me company! Yay!"

"Hehe, yeah, I figured you'd be lonely."

"At this point I'd be happy even doing _homework_ , I'm so bored."

"Really, cuz I brought some for you to look at—"

"NEVER MIND! Let's play Hyrule Warriors!"

"Okay!"

* * *

Link's palms were sweaty, so he kept wiping them on his pants as he listened to Ganondorf list of his responsibilities. Keep the office clean and organized, call potential clients, return calls and schedule appointments, give messages, get the mail, sort the mail . . . "Okay, got it. And if it's a CEO or Mr. Agahnim come get you right away?"

Ganondorf nodded. "Quick study, Link." He patted the boy on the back. "I'm sure you'll do fine."

"Thanks, sir."

"I have an appointment. You have a list of calls to make, they're in the top drawer of my desk. Text me when you're done."

"Yes, sir."

As soon as Ganondorf left, Link made his way clumsily to the desk and opened the top drawer, as instructed.

There wasn't a list in sight. Stomach already queasy from nerves, it only got worse as Link started opening the other drawers in an attempt to find the list. Was he already going to have to text Ganondorf and say he failed at something? He groaned and opened the last drawer.

Something rolled from the back of it. Link recognized it as an old pictovid tape. He gawked. _Are you kidding me? It was RIGHT HERE?_ He thought it must be the tape that Shadow had been talking about before, the one that was so amazing they HAD to see it and broke into his dad's basement labs to find it.

It was in his desk the whole time. Hadn't Shadow checked it? _You have horrible finding skills, Shadow_. Of course it didn't occur to Link that he was simply _good_ or maybe just _lucky_ at finding things, or he would have noticed the tape fell out of a secret compartment in the back of the drawer. He shut the drawer and inspected the tape. He was tempted to go give it to Shadow . . . but hadn't they already gotten into enough trouble over this thing? And Shadow was still recovering from his heart attack.

He put his hand on the drawer handle to open it again and replace the tape. The drawer was locked. _What? I just opened it a second ago!_ Worse, there were footsteps coming toward him, big, heavy-booted ones. He jumbled with the drawer handle a bit before running to his back pack and throwing the tape in it.

Just then Ganondorf came back in. "Sorry! Realized on the way out the list was still in my pocket."

Link forced his frozen mouth to move. "I was just about to call you about it."

Ganondorf nodded and placed a piece of paper on the desk. "Well, bye then." And he left.

Link gave a huge sigh of relief. But he was still frowning. What was he supposed to do with the tape? The drawer was locked! . . . maybe . . .

* * *

Aryll's scream could be heard from all the way in the driveway. She didn't understand why Link wasn't home. Link was always home by now. Granny and Link had both told her something about "work" and "hours" and something else grownup and weird, but she didn't get it. How come Link wasn't back yet?! She couldn't stop thinking about her mom and dad, and how THEY didn't come back.

She'd been screaming since Link left this morning. Granny had since given up trying to approach her. Every time she did, Aryll threw something at her. Romani fared no better. Aryll ripped at her hair and pounded her feet and fists into the ground, rolling around the living room like an angry dog fight.

Then there was the terrible sound of the phone ringing. This made Aryll scream louder. Granny answered the phone, then carried it to the living room. "Aryll!" Granny shouted. "Aryll, you need to calm down!"

Aryll bit her hand and growled at Granny.

Granny sighed. "If you calm down, I'll take you to see Link, otherwise you won't see him until tomorrow!"

Like an unplugged speaker, Aryll became quiet instantly, although she still shuddered and shook and breathed rapidly.

"Very good," said Granny, holding out the phone. "Link wants to talk to you."

Aryll pushed her ear toward Granny, who held the phone to it.

"Hey Aryll," said Link.

"Link." Aryll sniffed.

"Are you being good for Grandma?"

" _Link_."

"I know, but you have to be good for Grandma. I'll be home soon, okay?"

"No." Said with this particular tone, 'no' was short for "I know."

"If you promise you'll be good, I'll let you come visit me. How is that?"

Aryll nodded. "Okay."

"Good. I need your help."

The little girl tilted her head to the side. "Why?"

* * *

While he waited for Aryll to arrive, Link made a few calls, but his curiosity was getting the better of him. He unraveled some of the tape and held it up to the light, trying to discern what it was about. Ganondorf hadn't returned, so he figured he was safe for a couple of hours. He had a whole stack of papers to organize, so he took them to the living room where the tape player was, and after a few minutes of figuring out how the old machine worked, played the tape.

He sat on the couch while he organized the papers. So far the tape was just old videos of Ganondorf and his wife, and Link felt a bit embarrassed for watching it without permission. But Shadow had given him permission, right?

. . . This WAS the right tape, wasn't it?

The tape jumped forward, and halted on an even older looking video, one that was so old it must have been transferred from the Pictovid's very first incarnation. Two teenage boys were arguing over the camera, but they were off screen. Apparently one boy got it and pointed it at some sort of track. It took Link a moment to recognize it as a Goron racing track.

"Here we are at the Goron Race Finals!" said one. His voice sounded oddly familiar.

"Our latest excuse to scope out hot babes," the other said.

"Shaddup!"

"Ooooh, Ravio's into the hot Goron babes!"

"EEEURGH! Dude, ONE time!"

 _Ravio?_ Link's heart panged at the name. It couldn't be. It had to be someone else named Ravio. It couldn't be . . .

A heavy laugh that sounded suspiciously like a younger version of Ganondorf interrupted 'Ravio.' "Whoa! Check out the one with black spikes!"

"Dude, that must have been thirty feet high!"

"Did you get it on tape?"

"Uh . . . OW! Ganon!"

"SHADDUP! STOP SCOPING GORON CHICKS!"

"OH MY GOSH I'M NOOOOOOOOT—hey, actually . . . take the camera, I'll be back."

There was some scuffling, as Ganon yelled, "WHAT?"

"What can I say, Ganon? Hot chick, two thirty!"

"Don't tell me you're abandoning GORON RACING to go check out a CHICK? You call yourself a man?!"

"A man in love, Ganny!"

Ganondorf, who now held the camera, panned out to show Ravio walking away, tongue stuck out and making a peace sign with his fingers.

Link gasped. He fingers reached for the remote and pushed pause. He stared at Ravio.

He was younger, his hair was blond, but . . . the man in the video . . . it was his dad!

* * *

AN: No, Link, it wasn't the right tape. Not by a long shot xD


	18. Chapter 18

AN: **GO BACK A CHAPTER!** I updated twice this weekend, so make sure you didn't miss the previous chapter which was uploaded yesterday! Especially for plot reasons THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT!

Suggested Soundtrack: Grandma's Theme from Windwaker

* * *

Link couldn't believe it. His father was staring at him from the TV of one of Ganondorf's tapes. Why did Ganondorf have a pictovid with his dad in it? And why was Ganondorf in it? How did Ganondorf and his dad know each other?

"SHADOW! SHEEEEEEEEEIK!"

He heard a tuffle, then Sheik screaming, "Sit on your butt, dead heart man!" before the prince came careening into the living room and skidding to a halt. "What's wrong Link? You sounded like you were dying!"

Link said nothing, or rather, COULDN'T say anything. He merely pointed at the screen. Sheik looked. "Huh? . . . wait, Link, is that your dad?"

Link nodded dumbly.

Shadow finally speed-walked into the living room, ignoring Sheik's demands for him to slow down even _further._ "What? Did somebody—hey, Link, whatcha watching?"

Link was still staring at the screen with his mouth wide open, so Sheik filled him in. "Uh . . . Link's watching a pictovid of his dad when he was a teenager?"

Shadow gawked at the screen. "THAT'S your dad?"

Sheik gawked at Shadow. "You _know_ him?!"

"Well yeah. Remember that tape I was telling you about? Ravio was in it, too."

Link turned his face away from the screen to gawk at Shadow. "How do you know my dad's name?"

"Oh my gosh!" Shadow grabbed his hair. "I can't believe he's your DAD!"

Sheik raised clawed fingers to the sky. "WHO IS HE?!"

"He's your DAD?"

"YES!"

"Okay, everybody CALM DOWN, you're worse than my girlfriends!"

Shadow and Link both turned on Sheik. "Hey!"

"Daddy!"

Everyone turned to the voice. Aryll stood at the end of the living room, having just walked in, and she beamed at the TV. She ran to it and started jumping up and down. "Daddy daddy! Link! Daddy!"

Finally Granny walked in. "My goodness . . . I haven't seen her this happy all day." She looked at the pictovid and smiled. "Are you all watching family videos? But Link, I thought you were working."

They all gawked at her. "Grandma," said Link, "This isn't my family video. This is Shadow's . . ."

Granny frowned. "How can that be? Ganondorf and Ravio never knew each other, did they?"

"They're both on this video," Link said.

"And on other ones," Shadow said. "He was Dad's best man at his wedding."

Link leaped out of the couch. "Are you serious?!"

"That's not all. He was like my mom's best friend or something. They hung out together ALL THE TIME."

"But what happened? How come I've never heard of Ganondorf before I moved here? Why didn't Dad tell me about him? About you?"

"Dad said they had a falling out, and . . . well, Mom died. Dad never told me about you, either . . ."

Link looked at Granny. "Grandma, did you know anything about this?"

Granny's forehead crinkled in worry. She clasped her hands harder than normal.

"Grandma?"

Granny sighed and relaxed. "I wanted to wait a few more years before telling you. You just lost your parents, I don't want—"

"What is it, Grandma?"

"I think we should go home to discuss this, dear."

"No. I . . . please tell me, Grandma."

Instinctively, Sheik and Shadow shuffled closer to Link. Aryll seemed to notice something was wrong, and she stepped closer, too.

Granny slowly walked to a big armchair and sat down. The large thing was built for Ganondorf, not Granny, and it dwarfed her tiny frame in a cute way. "Shadow, correct me if my hunch is wrong, but is your mother's name Hilda Lorule?"

". . . Yes."

"May I see a photo?"

Shadow left and returned a few minutes later with the picture, which he handed to Granny. She took a long look at it and sighed. "I thought so."

"Grandma?"

She set the picture in her lap and looked at Link. "I don't know Shadow's mother besides her name, and her photo. Your father did know her. But before I go into that, there's something I need to tell you about your own mother.

"My daughter, your mother, is your stepmother."

The world tipped over. Link grabbed the sides of the couch to steady himself. "What? Mom was . . ."

"Your stepmother, dear."

"But . . . but that means—"

"She didn't give birth to you, Link."

"But—but—but I—I look just like her!"

"Well, you're not disimilar, so it was easy for your father to keep it a secret. He didn't want you to feel . . . unloved. He didn't want you to think your real mother abandoned you. Although, now, I wonder what he was really thinking." She looked at the photo again. "He must have been in so much pain . . . When your father and your . . . your _step_ mother met, you were already born." A smile crossed her features. "You were such a cute little baby, and so _strong_. I only saw you in pictures at first. I still lived here and you lived in Outset at that time. My daughter said you took to her immediately. I think that's what got your father to get to know her. Oh, he was a mess, I knew right away from my daughter's letters. I've never seen a man so destroyed, and yet so determined to rise above it. I knew something terrible must have happened in Castle Town to make him move all the way to Outset. I was nervous, of course, he'd never held a job for longer than a few weeks . . ." She smiled again. "But your father, he proved he could change. He made my daughter so happy . . . but when they got married, they chose not to tell you that your mother was actually your stepmother. You didn't seem to mind, and she loved you, Link, like her own child, I know this. She loved you more than anything in this world, you and Aryll both."

Link had his face in his hands. "This can't be true. My mom is Lily Knight."

"No, Link, I'm sorry . . ."

He raised his head and snapped, "Then who IS she?!"

Granny waited for Link to calm down. " _That_ I didn't know until this very night, I'm afraid." She glanced down at the photo of Shadow's mother.

"Okay," said Shadow, his ears twitching with a hunch and also too much excitement. "What does my mom have to do with all of this?"

"Well . . . there was one time Ravio opened up to me about your mother, Link. He told me her name and showed me a photo. That photo was of the same woman in _this_ photo, the one of Shadow's mother."

An electric shock ran through everyone, except Aryll, who was gnawing on one of Ganondorf's expensive pillows looking confused. Sheik saw, and swiped the pillow away from her, saying, "BLEEEEH! Who knows what chemicals reside in Ganondorf's furniture. Animal remains, fish scales. Lead maybe. Don't eat that, Aryll."

"Bad man pillow," Aryll said.

Sheik nodded. "Yes. Very bad man pillow."

"My mom . . ." Link whispered, then looked at Shadow, "your mom . . ."

Shadow grabbed him by the shoulders. "LINK! Link, you're my twin!"

"Your _what?_ "

"We're brothers! OH MY GOSH!" Shadow bear hugged Link, wiping tears from his eyes. "I finally have a brother!"

"I have a . . ." Link slowly returned the hug. Slowly the good news was overriding the hurtful news and Link's face began to clear. "I have a brother? But we don't even look like twins!"

"Well duh! We're fraternal. Happens all the time with in vitro!"

"In . . . vitro?" Link looked entirely lost. Suddenly his eyes sharpened. He held Shadow at arms' length. "WAIT! DOES THIS MEAN GANONDORF IS MY STEPDAD?!"

Looks of horror crossed all the teenagers' faces. Aryll had three pillows in her hands, and was beating them into the carpet while saying, "BAD MAN PILLOW! BAD MAN PILLOW! BAD! BAD!"

"Oh dear," said Granny, standing up, "I think I'd better go find that man's number and tell him to come here right now!"

* * *

Ganondorf stared at the wreck that was his living room, and the ten pairs of eyes staring expectantly, and with some horror, at him. "What . . . happened?"

Everyone pointed at the still frame of Ravio on the TV screen, even Aryll, who was simply following along. Ganondorf pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

Suddenly Link was on his feet. "You KNEW." He fists were clenched so tightly his knuckles were white. "You KNEW I was his son, and you didn't say anything!"

Ganondorf tried to speak, but Link cut him off. "You told me to stay away from Shadow! HE'S MY BROTHER! Why would you do that?!"

Shadow's face showed hurt. "Dad . . . you _did_ know? You knew the _whole time?_ "

"Of course I knew!" Ganondorf snapped.

"But, then why . . ."

"Look, there is a lot more to this story than you realize—"

"You DID know his name, didn't you?" Shadow cried, "You never 'forgot' it! You lied to me! It was YOUR idea to have him be the best man at your wedding. He was your foster brother, wasn't he?! You knew this whole time and you didn't tell me!"

"Shadow, calm down, your heart—"

"NOW I'LL NEVER KNOW WHO MY DAD WAS BECAUSE HE'S DEAD!"

Ganondorf's face suddenly contorted with rage. "THAT'S HOW YOUR FATHER WANTED IT!"

Shadow backed off, breathing in sharply, but Link forged forward. "Shut up about my father! You don't know him!"

"YOUR FATHER WAS A FOOL!"

BAM! Ganondorf staggered backward, his cheek stinging. He touched it gingerly, impressed.

Link was breathing heavy, holding his aching fist. "DON'T!" Link shouted, red faced. "EVER CALL MY DAD A FOOL! MY DAD WAS NOT A FOOL!"

Granny tried to calm Link down, but stayed a few feet away. "Link, dear, please go outside . . ."

"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!" Link shouted, so loudly his voice began to crack from strain.

Ganondorf looked to Shadow, but he only folded his arms and looked away.

Sheik held Aryll, who was frightened by Link's behavior. Usually if she punched somebody, it was LINK who stopped HER. She'd never seen him punch somebody!

"Link, dear, your father wouldn't want this!" Granny tried again.

"I DON'T CARE! YOU KNOW WHY I DON'T CARE?! BECAUSE MY DAD IS DEAD! HE'S DEAD!"

"I KNOW HE'S DEAD!" Ganondorf shouted back, but this time his face held pain, pure pain. "You think I LIKED keeping it secret? You think I WANTED my foster brother dead? How do you think it felt learning about his death from a NEWSPAPER?!"

"Ganondorf, stop setting such a bad example!" Granny scolded the man who was supposed to be the adult in the room.

Ganondorf took a deep breath. "I loved my brother," he said. "And it was _precisely_ because I loved him that I've kept this secret so long!"

Link wasn't sure he believed or liked what he was hearing, but both he and Shadow had calmed down enough to listen.

Forcing himself to unclench his fists, Ganondorf looked away for a moment to collect himself. "I suppose I should start at the very beginning . . ."

* * *

AN: Woo-hoo! What did you think of the big reveal?


	19. Chapter 19

AN: Here we go, the beginning of the not-quite-healthy relationship between Ganondorf and Ravio. We're getting to the end of this particular arc! Makes me emotional just thinking about it.

Suggested Soundtrack: Your favorite memory music!

* * *

CHAPTER ALL IS REVEALED PART 1

or at least some of it.

Ganondorf sat with his back against the playground fence, knees brought up to his chest. One knee was skinned very badly, but that wasn't the real reason he was crying. The other kids had cursed at him, again. So he hit them. It didn't make him feel better. Then they hit him back. It was always this way. Whenever a new kid came to the foster care center, the other kids would tell them about how they had a "Gerudo" and how he was green and nasty and a thief. They would show the new kid Ganondorf and throw rocks at him. Ganondorf didn't always fight back, but today was a bad day. Today he'd been passed over by a family. Again. Nobody ever wanted to meet a Gerudo orphan. He was lucky to get a look of disgust. Well, he'd show them one day! He was going to become a big, powerful businessman and buy 'em all out (that was something he'd seen on TV)!

A high-pitched scream interrupted his plotting, and he looked around. A scrawny little twig of a kid was running from some other kids, who eventually surrounded the little guy and started tormenting him.

"We'll let you go," said the biggest kid.

"Really?" The little boy seemed super hopeful. Ganondorf shook his head at him in warning, even though the boy hadn't noticed him at all.

"Yeah . . . as long as you do what we say." Everyone around the bully snickered.

"Well . . . okay. What do you want me to do?"

"Eat dirt!"

"B-but I don't wanna!" the little boy cried. "Don't make me do it, pleeeeeease!"

"Well then you have to lick the bottom of my shoe."

"EEW!" the boy yelled amongst jeering laughter.

Ganondorf had had enough. He'd seen enough crap from these guys for ONE day. He stood up and stalked over, hands in his pockets. The bully had a hand on the little kid's head, forcing it down, trying to force the kid to eat dirt. It was almost too late for the bullies when they finally noticed Ganondorf.

Ganondorf grabbed fistfuls of the main bully's shirt and shoved him away from the little kid. "Buzz off, moron! What are you picking on a little kid, for?"

The other kids 'oooooohed,' but Ganondorf knew they were too chicken to actually get in a fight with him. He was the biggest kid in the foster care center, besides the teenagers anyway. The only reason they got away with teasing him at all is because normally he didn't go psycho mad on them.

Yeah. That was it.

Ganondorf and the other boys got in a scuffle. Ganondorf's knee scab bled anew and his bruises hurt even worse, but soon he had chased them all off.

What he hadn't expected, though, was for the little kid to stick around. "Wow," said the little guy, admiring the blood draining down Ganondorf's leg. "Why'd you do that?"

"I dunno, I just felt like hitting stuff!" Ganondorf replied, angry.

"Boy, you're really brave! What's your name?"

". . . Ganondorf." None of the other kids had asked him his name before.

The boy, grinning, replied, "Neat! I'm Ravio. Nice to meet you, Ganny!"

Ganondorf glowered at him. "That is NOT my name."

"Oh! S-sorry."

Ganondorf turned and began stalking back to the fence. A little pitter patter behind him caused him to turn around. Ravio had followed him, and froze in place, eyeing him warily, feet turned inward and hands wringing themselves. "Why are you following me?" Ganondorf asked.

"Oh! Uh . . . you don't have any friends, huh?"

Ganondorf blinked at the dodged question, but answered, "No."

Ravio braved coming closer, and actually put a hand on Ganondorf's shoulder. "Well I was just thunking,"

"Thinking," Ganondorf corrected automatically.

"I was just thinking, I'm a nice guy, and you're a big guy. You don't have a friend, and I could be your friend, and you could, uh, protect me from those other guys. Whaddaya think, Ganny—dorf?"

"Ganondorf." He didn't know whether to smile that someone was touching him in a friendly way or toss Ravio's hand aside suspiciously. "And what do you mean, be my friend? Don't you have any friends?"

Ravio shook his head. "No, I just got here." He winked. "I won't be here long, though!" He put his hands on his hips and stuck his nose in the air proudly. "I'll bet the next family that comes through here will pick me right up! So you'll only have to protect me for a little bit, okay?" He nudged Ganondorf's big shoe.

"O . . . okay," Ganondorf replied.

"Great!"

Ganondorf and Ravio began walking in step next to each other until they reached the fence, where they sat down.

"So how old are you, Ganondorf?"

Ganondorf shrugged.

"Really? You don't know how old you are?"

This time, Ganondorf shook his head.

Ravio smacked his shoulder lightly. "Tell you what. I'm nine years old. You can't be much older than that, right? Soooooo, now you're nine, too! Okay?"

The tiniest of smiles crossed Ganondorf's face. It felt weird. Had he ever done it before? "Okay.

* * *

Turns out, Ravio was right. He left the center the very next time a family came to adopt. Ravio pulled off this charming act, everything an idealistic adopting parent could possibly dream about in a foster kid. He caught the family's attention right away, and never let it go.

Ganondorf, despite the fact that he himself would never be adopted because of his race, was happy for Ravio. After all, Ravio had been nice to Ganondorf, and he talked to him all the time, and even convinced the caretakers to let them sleep in the same bunk. Ganondorf guessed he was serious about the "friend" thing. He waved at Ravio as Ravio left, skipping along with his new family, happiest kid alive.

That is, until he came back.

"Ravio?" Ganondorf found the smaller kid in a corner of the play room. Ravio looked at him with blank eyes. "What happened?"

"Oh. I dunno." Ravio shrugged. "Didn't want me after all, I guess. Said I was too . . . noisy. Am I too noisy, Ganondorf?"

Ganondorf shook his head. "No way! I like it that you talk so much. You talk about lots of interesting things, too. And you're my friend."

Ravio grinned, but there was pain. "Good. They were just a bad family, then!"

"Yeah, they were stupid." Ganondorf had a LOT of practice calling families who rejected him stupid. "Don't worry, somebody will come around. You're not a Gerudo like me."

And come around someone did. Again, and again, and each time Ganondorf was happy for Ravio, sadder for himself, waved goodbye . . . only to find Ravio in the center again a few weeks or months later.

"What was it THIS time?" Ganondorf asked.

"Hm?" Ravio shrugged and made an 'I don't know' noise to match.

"You're lying. You did something this time, didn't you?"

Ravio grimaced. "It's not like they would have kept me very much longer, anyways!"

Ganondorf sighed and sat down. He'd seen other kids break like this all the time. They get sent back so many times they start to lose trust, and soon they try hard to get adopted only to get insecure and purposely cause so much trouble in their new home that they are sent back. It was a way to reject the family before the family rejected you, a survival tactic. A self destructive one, but one nonetheless.

"How did you end up here, anyway?" Ganondorf asked. He'd never asked before. It wasn't a topic most kids like to discuss.

"I don't know where my parents are. I guess they didn't want me, either."

Ganondorf put an arm around Ravio. "Well . . . you know I'm your foster brother, right, Ravio?"

Ravio sniffed.

* * *

Through the years, Ganondorf and Ravio stuck together like glue. Ganondorf was always there when Ravio was rejected by yet another family. Ganondorf protected Ravio from the other kids. They hung out together always. Ravio was always there when Ganondorf was bullied by adults and the other kids. This meant that sometimes Ravio got in the crossfire when Ganondorf's temper exploded and he began to fight back. It got bad enough at one point that caretaker Impaz was worried Ganondorf might hurt the smaller boy, and so she separated them.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Ravio screamed at the top of his lungs in Impaz's office. He pounded his fists on the floor and the desk and the furniture, kicking his legs angrily.

"Young man, stop that right now!" Impaz tried to keep the boy from hurting himself further. He already had a shiny black eye from Ganondorf's last outburst. "He's not good for you, honey. We'll find you another friend, one who's just as good!" Ganondorf was being kept in another office while each of the boys were debriefed about how their relationship was, well, "unhealthy."

Ravio was having none of it. Ever. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! NO NO NO I WANNA BE WITH GANNY I WANT GANNY I WANNA BE WITH GAN—GAN—GANONDORF I WANNA—"

 _ **BLAM!**_

The office door was thrown open, thumb tacks and the papers they held to the door flying across the room. Ganondorf stood in the doorway, looking agitated.

Ravio looked up, brightening completely. "Ganny!" He got to his feet and ran to Ganondorf, throwing his arms around him. "You came to get me!"

"Of course I did!" said Ganondorf emotionally, sounding as though he'd broken into Azkaban.

Impaz sat in her office chair, heaving a weary sigh. "Just WHAT am I going to do with you two?"

Ganondorf suddenly burst into tears. "I'M SO SORRY I'M SO SORRY I'LL NEVER HIT YOU AGAIN I PROMISE, RAVIO, I PROMISE!" He hugged Ravio furiously. "Can we please still be friends?"

Ravio grinned. "Well, yeah. But you know it will help me feel better if you let me call you Ganny. Is that okay?"

". . . yes."

"Hooray!"

* * *

"Hey Ganondorf?" Ravio asked from his top bunk.

"Yeah?" Ganondorf replied from the bottom bunk.

"So, like . . . we're foster bros, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, you know how families can adopt kids, right?"

"Yeeeaaaaaaaaaah."

"Well, why can't we adopt each other? Then we'd be REAL brothers!"

Ganondorf grabbed onto the top bunk and pulled himself up so he could stare with wide, mind-blown eyes at Ravio. "RAVIO YOU'RE A GENIUS."

"Hooraaaaaaaaay!"

* * *

"OH MY GODDESSES RAVIO GET OUT OF THERE!"

Ravio screamed like a little girl as he ran out of the watermelon patch, hefting a watermelon almost as big as him through the gate.

"Stop doing that," Ganondorf laughed, "You're thirteen for Din's sake!"

Ravio giggled. "How many'd you get, Ganny?"

"THREE!"

"Woo-hoo!"

They ran from a rain of gardening tools and dirt and screaming farmers.

* * *

Whenever Ganondorf got into a fight, Ravio ran away. Ganondorf was okay with this. He didn't want Ravio to get hurt. In the end, Ganondorf always stood up for Ravio, and it didn't matter what happened because of that. Ravio was his one friend, the one friend who always came back.

He still hadn't been adopted.

There was one more family that came by and saw interest in Ravio. He wasn't even trying. He'd given that up long ago, cursing all families as "lies" and "hypocrites." This family picked him out, from all the other kids. Despite himself, Ravio began to get excited. The family kept coming ever few days to spend time with him, and it seemed like this family might actually accept him!

Then adoption day came. Ganondorf had been purposely staying away from Ravio when the family was around—didn't want to ruin Ravio's chances of getting adopted because his best friend was a Gerudo. But as Ravio was about to be leaving with his new family, he suddenly ran back to Ganondorf, who hid behind the corner. "I have to say goodbye!" he said.

"Ravio, go back!"

His family came over to see who he was talking to. When they saw it was Ganondorf, they shoed the Gerudo boy away with disgust. Ganondorf ran ten feet away and nursed his hand, which they'd slapped hard trying to get at his face.

Impaz grimaced and put a hand on Ravio's shoulder. "Are you ready to go?"

Ravio was unresponsive.

"Let's go, honey," said his would-be adoptive mother.

Ravio walked out from under Impaz's hand and headed straight for Ganondorf.

"Ravio, Ravio—WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Ganondorf cried as the littler kid grabbed his hand and began dragging him down the hallway.

"Come on, Ganondorf, let's go."

"But Ravio, you're family—!"

"I don't want them. You're my friend."

Ganondorf forced Ravio to halt and put his hands on his shoulders. "No! No, you can't do this! This family's the real deal, Ravio! You can't pass this up just for me. I'm fourteen. Just two more years and I can get out of here. I'll never be adopted, but I'll be fine! And we can always hang out together at school and stuff, okay? But you have to promise me. PROMISE me you'll give this a shot, okay?"

Ravio's chin trembled. "But Ganny . . ."

"Do it. For me, Ravio. At least one of us can get adopted."

Ravio threw his arms around Ganondorf and hugged him tight. "I'll come back for you, Ganny. I promise. I won't leave you in here."

"Okay, okay, now GO!"

Ravio walked back, with hesitation. He looked back at Ganondorf often as his new family led him out of the center doors.

This time Ganondorf cried into his pillow, because he knew Ravio wouldn't come back this time. He tried to hold the tears back, though, because he knew Ravio was better off with a family than stuck in here. Maybe he'd even get to college and get a nice job, raise a family, have grandparents . . .

* * *

The next six months were rough for Ganondorf. He somehow suddenly had no one to talk to. Impaz tried, but he was one of hundreds of kids, so her time was obviously limited. He found himself talking less and less, and he was too depressed about Ravio leaving to get riled up by the other kids or t care when adults threw insults at him. He threw himself into physical activity, choosing to put his confidence in his body. Even if nobody liked him for who he was like Ravio did, he would ALWAYS be bigger and stronger than everybody because that's how he'd become friends with Ravio. With his strength.

He finished his thirtieth pull-up and jumped down from the playground equipment. He brushed his hands off and went inside to the common area.

As he looked around for a place empty enough for him to avoid any nasty comments and actions, he saw a familiar profile, under a familiar mop of hair. His heart lifting a thousand feet up in the air, it felt like, Ganondorf ran to the figure, his feet thumping on the ground loudly.

"RAVIO! What are you doing here?!"

Ravio didn't budge. He sat on a counter, staring blankly ahead.

". . . They kicked you out."

Ravio nodded tightly.

Ganondorf sat on the counter next to him. He knew the answer from Ravio's face, but asked anyway, "And you didn't do anything . . ."

Ravio shook his head, even more tightly, eyes threatening tears.

Ganondorf's heart, so light before, suddenly broke into pieces. It was terrifying for him to see his lively friend act so dead. He didn't touch Ravio, just sat next to him.

He was unpracticed at it after so many months of almost-complete silence, but Ganondorf did his best to fill in the silence with his voice, guiding the almost comatose Ravio from one event to another until bedtime, helping him get his things in order, telling him about the last six months, exaggerating things to make it sound more exciting . . .

Ravio didn't smile. So Ganondorf smiled for him. Ravio didn't laugh. So Ganondorf laughed for him. Ganondorf let Ravio have the lower bunk because Ravio didn't seem able to get to the top bunk. He tucked the smaller boy in and climbed into the top bunk. "Good night, Ravio!"

"G'night, Ganny." Those were the first words Ravio had spoken all day.

Ganondorf smiled.

* * *

After that, Ravio began running from everything. He would leave the center and be brought back by the police, all smiles and excuses and charming his way out of trouble. When he and Ganondorf turned sixteen, they both began looking for work. The center wouldn't kick them out officially until they were eighteen, but it was good to get a move on at sixteen so you had some cash. Plus that made it so the center could help you get an apartment with a grant from the government, so Ganondorf worked hard.

Ravio worked hard, too . . . for the first two weeks. Of every job he came across. Then suddenly he'd come to work late, get caught breaking the rules, or turn up either high or drunk. He'd get fired, sometimes he ended up in juvie. Ganondorf always went to bail him out, when he had the cash. Ravio wouldn't stay with a single job for longer than two weeks. It was like he would suddenly get uncomfortable, especially if it was a good job. Ravio had completely lost all confidence in himself. Nobody had ever wanted him in his entire life, and he had suffered so much rejection he simply couldn't face rejection even one more time.

So he rejected everything that came his way, good and bad.

Except for Ganondorf.


	20. Chapter 20

WARNING! Very serious chapter ahead!

Also, twenty chapters woohoo!

I'm so sorry readers, I know it's saaaaad! /cries. But I really wanted to show that even when things are sad, you can rise above them and be happy. We'll get there. Eventually. I hope. That's the goal, anyway!

Also, I promise I will catch up responding to reviews this week! Thanks for reviewing, reading, favoriting, following, and etc.! You all are awesome and make writing worth it!

I also promise there will be a Shadowed Past chapter next week . . . I've been so busy with school! Keeping up with Hyrule Castle High has been all I could do . . .

Suggested soundtrack: Something tender. Hey! Love Me Tender by Elvis. That's PERFECT.

* * *

Chapter ALL IS REVEALED Part 2/3

The rusty car chugged along, two feet a minute. Ravio was rapping along with the perfectly timed chugs.

"I swear this would be faster if I pushed," Ganondorf, who sat in the passenger seat, noted.

"Aw, come on, Ganny!" Ravio said from the driver's seat. "She's going, she's going!"

"We'll never get there."

The car gave a sudden POP and jolted forward an extra four inches. "YEAAAAH!" Ravio exclaimed. "Woohoo!"

Ganondorf crossed his eyes and raised them to the sky. "Ravio, look at the clock."

"What? It's 10:40, so what?"

"So the race starts in twenty minutes . . ."

". . . oh." Ravio killed the engine and leapt out and started running down the road.

Ganondorf left the car more slowly, and stood by the road with his thumb up. Eventually, after having drinks, cigarette butts, old food, and unmentionable liquids thrown at him out of Gerudo hate, a van with four Gerudo sisters pulled up and gave him a ride. They caught up with Ravio within minutes.

"So we have to stop for him but I wanna mess with his head first," Ganondorf told the driver with a smirk. She smirked back.

"You sure he's okay?" she asked. Hylians were racist. Gerudo were sexist. Ganondorf thought it was an interesting trade off. _Then again, how could you NOT be sexist when Hylian men treated you like whores just because of your race?_

Ganondorf put his hands on either side of his face and made faces outside the window at Ravio as they passed. Ravio noticed and started freaking out and running faster, probably uttering all kinds of obscenities. Ganondorf allowed himself a full minute of laughter before asking that they pull over to pick the kid up.

"WHAT THE HECK GANNY!"

"Whatever, Ravio, you needed the exercise. Now get in!"

Ravio folded his arms, staying outside. "Maybe I don't WANT to get in with you. You know what they said at the center about getting into strangers' vans!"

"Ravio. You're twenty-three."

". . . So?"

"So get in, you big baby!"

Ravio finally got into the van, and they were on their way.

"Hey what's up with you today?" Ganondorf asked.

Ravio hunched his shoulders slightly. "What?" he said, unconvincingly.

"Come on."

"I dunno, okay? I just . . . whatever." Ravio looked out the window, away from Ganondorf. "Been thinkin' a lot, that's all."

"Well I'm here if you need me."

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

SSS

Ganondorf looked through his binoculars. There was a break between races, so he took up scouring the crowds for Ravio's fluffy head. Not finding him after five minutes, Ganondorf figured he went to get snacks at the Rabbitland Snacks Cart. Why the idiot liked those low-grade, disgusting snacks was beyond Ganondorf, but at least it was a likely place to find Ravio when his phone wasn't working. Or was turned off. Or his messages were full. Or anything else.

He did indeed find Ravio by the Rabbitland Snacks Cart. He wasn't alone. _Oh boy, he's really pouring the charm on that one_. Ravio was speaking to a Hylian woman with black hair and pale skin. Ganondorf was taken aback when he noticed her blood red eyes. She responded to Ravio's flirtatious conversation with calm amusement. She had features most would call delicate, but the way she carried them made her seem strong. She flipped her long hair over her shoulder and laughed at something Ravio said. She had the most ridiculous laugh. It was all gurgly and hicuppy, totally unfitting of the rest of her image. Ganondorf felt his mouth quirk up in response.

Ravio noticed him walking over, and called out, "Hey, Ganny! This is my friend Hilda. I'll told her all about you, don't worry." That was Ravio's way of saying, 'Don't worry, she's cool with Gerudo, you're safe with her."

Ganondorf offered a hand, and she shook it. "Nice to meet you," he said.

"Likewise," Hilda responded. She had a deep, melodious voice, and eyes that blinked slowly.

"We met two days ago," Ravio was explaining. He kept talking, but Ganondorf didn't really hear. He and Hilda just stared into each other's eyes for a long moment. Ravio was too enamored of his story to notice he was being accidentally ignored.

Ganondorf found himself standing a little straighter under her scrutiny, holding his chin high, but not so high as to seem aloof. He raised an eyebrow, clasped his hands behind his back, and asked, ever so poshly, "We're viewing the race from row seven. Would you like to join us?"

"I would. Very much."

Ravio cut off his own story. "Awesome!" he shouted. He put one arm around Hilda's shoulders and the other around Ganondorf's back and started shepherding them to the stairs. Hilda started laughing her gurgly laugh almost immediately. Ravio seemed to be very amusing to her.

SSS

". . . He's like the littler brother I never had," Hilda explained while stirring her milkshake between sips.

Ganondorf grinned. It was nice having somebody to talk about Ravio with. Somebody who seemed to like all of the crazy Hylian's idiosyncrasies as much as Ganondorf did. "How did you two meet again?"

Hilda laughed. "Funny story. So I was trying to buy some shoes, and the clerk had me agreeing to pay this outlandish price as if it were fair. Was about to give the clerk my credit card when this guy, Ravio, bursts onto the scene and starts haggling—literally haggling! Ten minutes later I got a pair of shoes, a handbag, a scarf, and some nice footie socks, all for the low price of $19.99! AND a $5 gift card for the next time I go to that store."

Ganondorf chuckled and scratched the back of his neck. "Yeah . . . Ravio's pretty good with his money." _When he has it, anyway_.

"I've noticed. He has an eye for details."

"Must be why he decided to help you," Ganondorf said without thinking.

"Why?" Hilda asked curiously.

Ganondorf blushed furiously. "Cuz . . . you know, you're eyes . . ." he looked away, waving a hand lamely.

One side of Hilda's mouth turned up. "Rather large detail, that."

"Yeaaaaah . . ."

Before he could even further put his foot into his mouth, Hilda interrupted him. "So what do you do, 'Ganny'?"

"Oh please . . . not you, too . . ."

Hilda giggled, and Ganondorf grinned.

"Currently, I'm a janitor," Ganondorf explained. "Although I've been training for an office job that I'll take over the summer. Then hopefully I'll get into business and start an actual career."

"Where'd you go to college?"

"I . . ." Ganondorf fumbled uncomfortably.

"You never went?"

"Well, see, we were foster kids, and we weren't the best students growing up and, well, Ravio's had it rough and he's all I got, so . . ." Ganondorf didn't want to bad mouth Ravio, so he tried to talk around the fact that most of his savings the past few years had gone to getting Ravio out of trouble.

"Ravio's why, isn't he?" Hilda interrupted again, a knowing look in her eye.

Ganondorf suddenly realized Hilda understood Ravio completely, even though she'd only known him a few days. And she was okay with him. Ganondorf was really starting to _like_ this woman! "Like I said . . . he's all I've got."

SSS

Ravio parked the car at the top of the hill so they could look at Castle Town in the sunset.

"Soooo," Hilda said, not fooled at all. "What are we doing here?" Ravio hadn't looked at her the whole way here. That was unusual. She knew he'd be hurt anyways. She'd been expecting this.

"You're getting married to my brother."

"Yes, I am."

"It's nothing, just . . . what does Ganny have that I don't?"

A spark of annoyance covered her face. _A steady job? A house? Responsibility?_ But she forced the thoughts down. She knew it wasn't Ravio's fault he was the way he was, but sometimes it wore on you, especially when he didn't realize how messed up he was. "Just how WOULD you take care of a family, Ravio?"

Ravio didn't answer. His face was tight.

Hilda sighed. "You need a job, Ravio."

"I HAVE a job!"

"Yeah, and a different one last week and a new one next week! I mean a REAL job, Ravio. One you don't run away from. For goodness' sake, your reputation is so bad here that people are literally turning you away from jobs because they've HEARD about you! Pretty soon you'll have to leave town just to find work. What, am I just supposed to leave my family, friends, my OWN career, make our kids switch schools every few months while you hop from job to job? That's no life for a kid, Ravio. You should know that."

Again, Ravio said nothing, gripping the steering wheel tightly. Then quietly, he asked, "Why would you have to move? You could stay here and I could send money to you."

"I don't want that!"

Ravio's voice became heated. "Well YOU have a career, why do I need one?!"

Hilda lost her cool as well. "Maybe because you keep, I don't know, _getting in trouble?_ Remember the car you totaled last month?"

"I was just upset."

"UPSET is not an excuse to waste thousands of dollars! That car was brand new!"

"Well so what? This is who I am! And as if I haven't saved you THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS, you can't bargain worth a crap!"

"And then you SPEND all those savings by sabotaging yourself and running away because you're too afraid that somebody in the world might actually LIKE you and be NICE to you!"

"I don't do that with Ganondorf."

"And who else?"

"You."

Hilda rolled her eyes. "I gave you that car because I thought you DID feel safe with me. But you don't. How can I even think of having a relationship with somebody who doesn't trust me? You took my gift and you destroyed it before it could even serve you for a week. You don't trust me. You don't trust anyone."

"I just said—"

"You're a COWARD, Ravio! I can't live with a coward! Ganondorf isn't a coward, and that's why I'm marrying HIM instead of you!"

She thought for sure he would storm out of the car, slam the door. Run away, like always. She hated it, but he needed to know the truth, and she was tired of him not getting it.

And yet, he stayed. "You don't know him," Ravio said. His voice had gained a quiet concern. "He's got problems, too, Hilda."

Hilda bristled. Now he was attacking his own brother?! "At least he deals with them!"

Ravio's face looked pained. "No, no, he doesn't!"

"Stop trying to make your brother look bad, Ravio!"

"I'M BEING SERIOUS!" Ravio shouted, finally looking at her for the first time.

Hilda wanted to shout back at him, but she forcefully kept her mouth shut, not wanting to sink to his level.

"You DON'T know him, Hilda, he's . . . he's got a temper."

"What are you talking about?"

"He acts differently around you. You . . . you haven't seen him on a bad day."

"I can't believe this." Hilda unbuckled her seat belt.

"Hilda, I just don't want you to get hurt!"

Hilda opened the door and left the car. "I can't BELIEVE you would say such a terrible thing! About your OWN BROTHER!"

"It's the truth, Hilda! I swear!"

"Get out of here, Ravio!"

"What about you?"

"I'll get a cab!" Hilda slammed the door and stormed down the road. She folded her arms and huffed for five minutes straight. She hated to admit it, but something rang true in what Ravio said. Did she really not know Ganondorf? Was he really acting completely different around her? Was he intentionally hiding his bad points from her? It wasn't something she was used to. She was used to being able to judge a person's character well . . .

After a while of brooding, she heard the hum of a car engine, which approached her and then stayed just behind her. Normally this would be extremely creepy, so Hilda turned around.

It was Ravio. He'd followed her. He gave her a bashful look from the driver side window, then she heard the doors unlock.

She stared at him for a minute.

He gave a playful pout.

She couldn't resist the grin on her face. She crossed over and climbed into the car. She held out a closed fist, asking for a fist bump. "Friends?"

Ravio at first went to bump her fist, but paused his hand a few inches away. When she looked up at him with a question in her eyes, he smiled gently and instead brought his hand up to brush her cheek. "What are you talking about? You're part of the family now, sister."

Hilda smiled back, touched.

Ravio put the car in gear and drove them home.

SSS

"You . . . you're okay with this?" Ganondorf asked, surprised. The brothers walked in the fall wonderland that was Castle Town in September.

Ravio stretched his arms over his head, then placed his hands behind his head. "Yeah, well, I've been thinkin', you know, as I always do, and you know what I've decided?"

"What?"

"You and I are brothers. That's that. I won't let anything get in the middle, no matter how much it hurts."

"I'm sorry, Ravio."

Ravio laughed. "No you're not, dumbass! You're head over heels in love with her. Hey, Ganny." He stopped Ganondorf with a hand. Ganondorf stopped walking and faced him.

"What is it, Ravio?"

Ravio held nothing but admiration for Ganondorf, and he grinned before saying what he had to say. "She's as important to me as you are. This family doesn't work without her anymore, okay? Take care of her, Ganondorf. I won't forgive you if you don't."

"Of course I will," Ganondorf retorted in confusion.

"I know you, Ganny. Sometimes you let your ego get in control of you."

"Oh come on, I'm different now!"

Ravio gave a tight chuckle and clapped his arm. "I hope so, dude. Now go marry that girl and give me lots of nieces and nephews!"

Ganondorf shoved him aside, snorting.

SSS

Ravio's heart was breaking. Hilda stood on his porch—Ravio'd moved out of Ganondorf and his apartment a long time ago, to give room for the lovebirds—she was shaking. Ravio reached for her and took her face in his hands, wiping away her tears. Then he embraced her. "Oh no, what happened?"

He invited her inside and she told him everything. "He was so _angry_ ," she said of Ganondorf. "I've never . . . I've never seen him like that."

Ravio's insides twisted. So his brother's darker side finally chose to show itself, eh? He scooted closer to her on the couch and wrapped an arm around her. "Now don't you worry, sis, I'll talk to him, okay? Don't you worry about a thing . . ."

SSS

"Ganondorf . . ."

Ganondorf turned to look at Ravio. It was the first time Ravio had stepped foot in his office building, of which he was the owner. He'd come a long way from janitor status, that was for sure. He knew by Ravio using his full name that his brother had something serious on his mind. He placed his mug on his desk and walked closer to Ravio, hands in his pockets.

Ravio was looking out the window onto the city below. He hesitated a long moment before saying, "Hilda's at my place."

"That's where she went? Ugh! I've been calling her all morning when I woke up and found her gone. You think she'd call—"

"She said you got mad at her."

"So? What does that have to do with anything? Couples fight!"

Ravio turned from the window to look straight at Ganondorf, green eyes flashing. "I wanna know . . . you being mad . . . does that mean what I think it does?"

Ganondorf balked. " _NO!_ You know I wouldn't!"

Ravio squinted his eyes suspiciously. "Not YET. Ganondorf, if you _hurt_ her—"

Ganondorf grabbed Ravio by the collar of his shirt and shoved him against the wall, hard. "JUST WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?"

"You've got a problem," Ravio stated, refusing to look away. "You need to DEAL WITH IT!"

"I WOULD NOT—I WOULD NEVER!" Ganondorf's face was as red as a green face could probably get. Ravio flinched, but still refused to look away. Ganondorf began to catch himself. He fumbled over a few words, then set Ravio down and ran out of the office. Employees who had heard him yelling watched him go apprehensively.

Ravio stepped out of Ganondorf's office and faced them all, clapping his hands and saying cheerfully, "Well! Let's get back to work, shall we?"

SSS

Ravio waited for Ganondorf at his and Hilda's flat. Hilda was still at Ravio's. When Ganondorf didn't show up right after work, Ravio got himself a milkshake and turned on the TV.

A few hours after the sun went down, his phone beeped. Hilda had successfully trained him to keep his phone handy. " _IF YOU EXPECT TO BE AN UNCLE TO MY CHILDREN YOU WILL BE AVAILABLE AT ALL TIMES TO THEM, RAVIO!"_ He smiled at the memory and checked his phone.

It was a text from Ganondorf.

" _Don't wanna come home. Meet me at Eldin Bridge?"_

Ravio knew he didn't want to come home because he didn't want to face Hilda. He texted "Ok" and got his stuff together.

He found Ganondorf leaning on the rail of the bridge—it had been installed after much complaint from people saying their carts kept accidentally rolling off of it. He hung his head like it weighed a dozen tons.

Ravio approached him, arms folded. He adjusted his back a bit. He knew there'd be a bruise there later . . . "Hey." Ganondorf didn't respond, so Ravio just joined him at the edge of the bridge.

"I . . . how is Hilda?" Ganondorf asked finally.

Ravio purposely didn't answer.

Ganondorf hung his head even lower. His forehead almost met the railing. "I'm scared of myself, Ravio. Scared of what I might do. To her. What do I do?"

"You deal with it," Ravio replied. "Stop lying, first of all. She deserves to know what you are, and . . . she deserves the right to leave you if she finds out she doesn't like you."

"But what if I . . . no, you're right. I . . . have to do something about myself, don't I?"

Ravio nodded. "'bout time you were the dunce in the family, don't you think?"

"Ha. Ha."

Ravio punched his arm lightly. "But seriously, I'm here for you, bro. No matter what. Okay? Bruises and all."

Ganondorf pulled Ravio into a hug and hugged him fiercely. "Thank you, Ravio."

"Yeouch!" Ravio said, chuckling when the hug hurt his back more than it already hurt.

"I'm sorry . . ."

"I know, Ganny." Ravio patted his brother's big shoulders.

Then Ganondorf let him go. "But . . . I can't let you do this for me."

Ravio's shoulders slumped. "Huh? Why? Do what?"

"I can't keep hurting you like this . . . I . . . I need to go someplace I can't hurt you OR Hilda. I need you to promise me something . . . promise you'll never let me hit you again?"

"It's not a big deal, Ganny, I can take it—"

"It IS a BIG DEAL. Nobody should . . . should treat their brother that way. And what if you get sick? What about when we're old? What if I get angry at you then?"

Ravio suddenly didn't like where this conversation was going. "Th-then we'll deal with it!"

"You can't deal with it if you're dead!"

Ravio laughed. "You'd never kill me!"

"NOT YET," Ganondorf said, purposely repeating Ravio's words from earlier.

Ravio felt ice in his chest. "What . . . what are you saying, Ganondorf?"

"How can I possibly be a father this way? I need you to take care of Hilda for me. I'm going to . . . to deal with my problems."

"What? Alone? You can't do that!"

"Yes I can, and you're not going to stop me."

Ravio was fully freaking out right now. "But Ganondorf—!"

Ganondorf took Ravio by the shoulders. "I need you to respect me on this, Ravio. I need you to . . . stay away from me."

"Why?" Ravio's voice broke.

"Because you need to take care of Hilda. She needs you, and you can't do that if you're taking care of me. Please, Ravio."

Ravio grabbed Ganondorf's arms, beginning to tear up. "But you're my brother! I want to be with _you_! I want to help you!"

"If you truly want to help me . . . take care of the woman I love, Ravio."

Ravio was almost hyperventilating. Finally he responded. "No!"

Ganondorf let him go and started walking back to his car.

Ravio stood where Ganondorf left him, heart pounding, frozen in place from shock. Finally he ran after Ganondorf when it finally dawned on his that Ganondorf was serious. "WAIT! YOU CAN'T! YOU CAN'T DO THIS GANONDORF!"

Ganondorf got into his car and locked it. Ravio pounded on the windows. "I DON'T CARE IF YOU HURT ME, GANNY, JUST DON'T LEAVE ME! DON'T LEAVE ME ALL ALONE!"

Ganondorf ignored his brother's plaintive cries. "This is best, Ravio!" He shouted through the window so Ravio could hear. "Believe me, this is . . . for the best." He started rolling the car forward carefully until he knew Ravio was no longer hanging onto the mirror for dear life. When he knew Ravio was a safe distance from the car, Ganondorf sped across the bridge.

Ravio sprinted to his own car, fumbling with the controls, and sped after him. After twice almost getting himself killed running red lights to keep up with Ganondorf, a police car finally got behind Ravio's car and flared its lights. Ganondorf knew Ravio wouldn't unless he did as well, so he pulled over.

Ravio was in no state to be driving, Ganondorf could tell right away. The police officer seemed to think so, too, from the fact that he was putting Ravio in handcuffs.

"Ganondorf, you gotta stay!" Ravio was saying. "You gotta save me, so you gotta stay!"

But for the first time in their relationship, Ganondorf didn't get Ravio out of trouble. He shook his head. "Don't follow me, Ravio. I'll see you soon. I promise. It's not like I'm leaving town. This won't be forever."

Ravio began to cry as Ganondorf walked back to his car. "Ganondorf? Ganondorf! _Ganondorf!_ "

But he was ignored.

Ganondorf's car sped off out of sight, and Ravio's whole world came crashing down.

SSS

This time it was Hilda who bailed him out. "Heeeeeey, sister!" Ravio grinned cheerfully at her unamused expression.

"Where's Ganondorf?" Hilda asked immediately as the police officer finished Ravio's paperwork. "Is he okay?"

"Oh yeah! Yeah, he's fine!" They made it all the way home before Ravio told her what happened. He kept a straight face. "Don't worry," he said, putting a hand on Hilda's shoulder. "I'll take care of you, I PROMISE. I've got this job, and . . . uh . . . I'll figure something out."

Hilda's eyes teared up, then she stepped forward and embraced Ravio. "Ganondorf is so lucky . . . to have you as a brother."

Ravio hugged her back. _Then why won't he let me help him?_

SSS

"HEY! How's your anger management class going, Ganny?" Ravio bounced over to a seat next to Ganondorf. It had been a couple years, and Ganondorf and Hilda were back together, working out their issues in counseling and classes. It had been a long battle for Ganondorf. Ravio had broken into tears when they finally met again.

"We've been learning to direct our anger into leaves," Ganondorf replied, none too psyched about the weird, zen-like process of cognitive therapy. "We're supposed to blow them away with our minds."

Ravio laughed. "Does it work?"

"Yes . . . embarrassingly . . . my therapist says I'm in a good place. Shouldn't be too much more of this." He set down his mug and trailed a finger along it's edge.

"That's great, Ganondorf!"

"Thanks. Hey Ravio . . . Hilda and I have been thinking . . ."

"Yes?"

". . . How would you like to be an uncle?"

Ravio's mouth dropped open. "Seriously?!" He dropped his hands on the table. "IS SHE PREGNANT?!"

Ganondorf chuckled. "No, no, not yet . . . but we're thinking about trying."

Ravio practically leapt out of his seat. "This'll be so great! I CAN'T WAIT! Oh man, this is so awesome, I'm going to be an uncle! FINALLY!"

SSS

Ganondorf sat looking over his work. He couldn't focus. His doctor's appointment had been devastating, to say the least. Hilda had taken the news well, but Ganondorf knew she was hiding the bulk of it for his sake. Ganondorf was looking over books and books of fertility options for men, but . . . he just couldn't focus. Besides that, finding a sperm donor was going to be hugely expensive, and he wasn't sure he could afford it, even now.

His office door opened. Ravio came around it, like some sort of thief. "Hi Ganny!"

"Hi Ravio." Ganondorf played along, letting Ravio bounce around the office, pretending to just be there to . . . well, be there. "What's on your mind?" Ganondorf finally asked.

Ravio paused and looked at him. "Well, I've been _thinkin'_ , there's this thing called in vitro fertilization, right? And, like, I've done tests and everything, and well . . . I mean to say, I'm perfectly capable of having kids, so . . ."

Ganondorf stood, unable to believe his ears. "Are you saying . . . what I think you're saying?"

"Yeah! Wouldn't it save you thousands of bucks, anyways?"

"You . . . you've done the tests and everything?! And there . . . there're no problems?"

Ravio grinned proudly. "Yup! No probs! Three years sober, dude! No drugs, no felonies—as if that matters—and uuuh, oh yeah I've had the same job for two whole months!"

"You want to be our donor?!"

"Yeah! I totally do! And you don't even have to pay me. But," he continued jokingly, "I expect visitation rights in the mornings and every other weekend and—"

Ganondorf bounded across the office and bear hugged Ravio. "Thank you," he choked. "Thank you!" This made the procedure a lot cheaper. This made it _possible_. He and Hilda were going to be parents!


	21. Chapter 21

AN: PART 3 EVERYONE WE'RE IN THE HOME STRETCH GET YOUR TISSUES!

Suggested Soundtrack: Young and Beautiful by Lana Del Rey as sung by Julia Westlin.

Shadowed Past will update tomorrow!

* * *

Chapter ALL IS REVEALED part 3/3

" . . . What?"

Ganondorf couldn't believe his ears. He leaned his entire weight on the reception desk in the ER.

" . . . couldn't save her. Were you aware she had a heart condition?"

"What? No . . ."

"What about a family history of heart disease?"

Ganondorf covered his face with his hands. His ears were full of ringing. "No, no, we checked all of that!" _This can't be happening. This_ can't _be happening!_

"Can I see her?"

The doctor shook his head. "We're still cleaning up the surgery. We'll let you know as soon as you can see her."

Gaondorf knew. He knew the moment she collapsed that morning that there was a chance she wouldn't get back up again. Even so, he'd rushed her to the hospital, hoping beyond hope that—

"There is some good news, though, sir," the doctor continued.

"Good news? GOOD NEWS?" Ganondorf rounded on the man. "How can there be good news?!"

The doctor held up a hand. "We were able to save the babies. They're premature, so we're getting them hooked up to machines now, but so far . . . they're alive. You have two sons."

Ganondorf didn't know what to feel. "Can I see _them?_ "

The doctor nodded, then paused. "Well, one. The other is going through some testing to see if he's healthy."

"Show me. Please?"

The doctor led him to a room in the hospital that was for pre-mie babies. He pointed out a clear box, inside which was a tiny baby curled into a tiny ball. He had tufty blond hair. He didn't look like Hilda, not even a little. In fact, he looked like his biological father, Ravio. Ganondorf's mouth began to smirk, then it settled simply into a smile. _Ravio will like that_.

Ravio.

How would he take the news that Hilda was dead? He'd finally gotten a job—and kept it. For longer than six months anyway. He was a truck driver, so he wasn't here at the hospital. Ganondorf considered calling him, but he didn't think giving someone who was driving horrible news was a good idea. No, better wait until he got here.

The doctor instructed Ganondorf how to fit his big hands through the little openings in the box so he could touch his son. Within seconds the boy had wrapped his tiny hand around Ganondorf's finger, scrunching his face. Ganondorf smiled. He laughed. He cried. "I'm so happy," he said, confusion evident in his voice, "And so devistated."

The doctor placed a hand on Ganondorf's arm. "It's understandable."

Ganondorf tried to pull himself together. "When can I see Shadow?"

The doctor blinked. "Shadow?"

"My other son."

"You've picked names already, I see. What's this little one's name?"

Just looking at his son in the box, he knew this one wasn't Shadow. "He's . . . my wife wanted to name him after me, but . . . I don't want him to have a Gerudo name. Especially . . . not now."

"May I suggest . . ."

Ganondorf glanced up.

The doctor flushed slightly. "Well, I have a cousin, you know . . . she's a Gerudo, and they had the same problem. They wanted to name their child after her, so they just Hylianised their child's name. What does your name mean, Ganondorf?"

Ganondorf hesitated. "Little left-handed pig."

The doctor froze. "Okay . . ."

Ganondorf sighed. "It basically means 'devious bastard.'"

"Oh, I see! The left hand used to be considered evil."

"And in Gerudo, pig is a terrible insult."

"Why on earth were you named that?"

Ganondorf looked away to hide the slight flushing of his cheeks. "Something about my face looking ugly or something as a baby, I expect . . ."

"Had that evil glint in your eye, eh?" When Ganondorf didn't respond, the doctor quickly continued, "Well, there are names that mean 'left hand.'"

"I'm not even left handed," Ganondorf said.

"Well no, but it IS the only part of your name that could be even slightly seen as a good thing, that and little." He waved the pen in his left hand. "I'm left handed, and . . . being named little certainly didn't affect you any." The doctor was a whole head shorter than Ganondorf—like most people were.

Ganondorf had to concede to the point. "I don't want to name my son something that means evil, though."

"It _doesn't_ , that's the point! Look at it this way—most people aren't even going to KNOW the meaning of the name, and aren't going to bother to ask. And besides . . . wasn't there some hero who was left handed or something?"

Ganondorf stared at the Hylian man incredulously. "Yes. A big, giant Hylian hero. Even I know about it. How come you don't?"

The doctor shrugged. "No reason! But anyway, his name was Link, and he was named that because the name means 'left hand' in Teutonic."

"Link."

"What do you think?"

Ganondorf stared at his son, how he held his finger so tightly, scrunched his face at the annoying yet warm light in his face. "Little hero Link. I think it fits."

* * *

Shadow was still going through tests, so Ganondorf stayed with Link while he waited for news. Waited for Ravio. Waited to be able to see Hilda's body.

He decided that he absolutely hated waiting.

He had waited their whole marriage, busting his chops to afford the treatments. Ravio's help made it decidedly cheaper, but there were still bills. Doing so, he ended up working most hours of the day, and Hilda had become . . . distant. Now he regretted it—and yet, he didn't. He had this beautiful boy, Link . . . Hilda had given him a child, how could he regret working so hard for it?

There was supposed to be time. After the bills were paid, there was supposed to be _time_. Time to grow closer again, to raise their sons together.

Ganondorf had waited for that time.

It would never come.

* * *

Ganondorf took a walk outside. He was tired, and hungry, and he needed some fresh air. His thoughts were interrupted when a giant semi screeched into the hospital parking lot and parked haphazardly.

 _That'll be Ravio_ , Ganondorf thought, immediately wishing he hadn't told Ravio that Hilda was in the hospital. The last thing Ganondorf needed was Ravio getting into a wreck and killing somebody trying to get to the hospital as fast as he could.

Ravio opened the semi's door and ran across the parking lot, weaving through cars. He spotted Ganondorf by the door and made a beeline to him. "Ganny! Where is she? How is she? What happened?!"

Ganondorf grabbed ahold of the stuttering Ravio's shoulders and led him into the lobby.

"Answer me, Ganondorf!"

"Ravio . . . she . . . s-sit down."

"NO! I don't want to sit! I've been sitting for hours and I can't stand it! What happened?!"

"She had a heart attack, Ravio. It was complications from her pregnancy, nobody knew about it. She . . . she didn't make it, Ravio."

Ravio's jaw dropped, his eyes froze in place. Then his face underwent something like a slow motion reaction to being hit. " _What?_ "

"She's gone, Ravio."

Ravio stumbled back, freeing himself from Ganondorf's grip. "What?"

"My wife is _dead_ , Ravio!" Ganondorf was feeling a little angry, and hurt.

Unexpectedly, Ravio burst out laughing. "Good one, Ganny!" Then his face morphed, a crazy look in his eye. "That's not funny at all. What the heck, Ganondorf?! S-so where is she?"

"Mr. Dragmire?" A nurse called. "The doctor's have finished with the body, if you would like to see her."

"Body?" Ravio was pale, even a little yellow around the mouth. "What body?"

Ganondorf set a hand again on Ravio's shoulder. "Hilda's body, brother."

Ravio collapsed, and would have fallen to the ground if Ganondorf hadn't had such a good grip on his arm. "No, no, no!" Ravio struggled to regain his balance. "But I just got here! How can she be dead already? She can't be dead already I DIDN'T SAY GOODBYE!"

"Come on, Ravio . . . let's go see her body. Please?"

Ravio again shrugged off Ganondorf's hand and stumbled into the nearest chair. "No."

"Ravio."

"No, I don't want to see her like that. She's not there anyway. She's gone. She's dead. She left. She left me."

"She didn't want to, Ravio."

"Like you didn't? You left. She left. They all left."

A few nurses, alerted to Ravio's breakdown, came over to help. Ganondorf turned and began walking away. Ravio's pain was not helping his own pain get any better. He needed to see Hilda's body. He just couldn't deal with Ravio's issues right now . . .

* * *

At least she wasn't in any pain anymore, Ganondorf thought. She looked beautiful. So beautiful . . . but Ravio was right. She wasn't there. It was like he stared at an empty shell, her spirit, her life force, her what-have-you, having long vacated it. He sat there holding her hand, brushing her face, for who knows how long . . .

A knock came on the door, and a nurse entered. "Mr. Dragmire, you're needed immediately."

"What is it?"

"It's your friend."

"Friend?"

"In the lobby."

"Ravio?"

"He's causing a scene."

Ganondorf made his way back to the lobby. He heard Ravio's yelling long before he got there. "Ravio, calm down!"

Ravio suddenly shut up, then glared at Ganondorf. "YOU!" He strode over and pointed an accusatory finger at Ganondorf. "THIS IS YOUR FAULT!"

"What are you talking about?!"

"I TOLD YOU! I TOLD YOU NOT TO HURT HER! I TOLD YOU I WOULD NEVER FORGIVE YOU!"

"THIS ISN'T MY FAULT!" Ganondorf screamed back.

They screamed at each other. Eventually security was called.

* * *

The boys were forcefully separated. Ganondorf drove home, saying something about 'needing to help Shadow.' Ravio remained at the hospital.

Ravio finally calmed down enough to be told about Link and Shadow. When security finally let him go, he went to the room where Link was. Ganondorf had seen Link as looking like Ravio . . . but Ravio knew better. There were the small details on his tiny wrinkled face. The way his eyebrows angled downward, the way his voice cooed incredulously as this bright, brand new world he found himself in.

He coughed a tiny bit, so Ravio reached in and rubbed his tummy. Link opened his eyes as much as he could with his swollen eyelids. Ravio grinned down at him. "Hi, Link! Aren't you beautiful . . ."

Link blinked at him curiously, then his eyes closed again and he fell asleep within minutes.

He called a nurse, and asked, "Can I hold him?"

The nurse nodded. "For a little while. He needs to stay in the incubator most of the time."

Carefully, the nurse took Link out of the box, wrapped him in a hospital blanket, and gently placed him in Ravio's arms. Ravio took in a great deep breath. He wasn't sure how to hold Link, but with the nurse's help he managed.

"I can't take my eyes off him," Ravio said to the nurse. He took Link's tiny hand and brushed it with a thumb, gently. "Oh Hilda . . . look at this perfect little boy . . . Wherever you are."

"Okay, sir, he should really go back into the incubator."

"Does he have to?" Ravio didn't want to let go. Not now. Not ever.

The nurse was patient. "Please, sir, hand him to me."

"Do I have to?" He shook his head. "O-Okay."

Right before he did, Ganondorf entered the room. Ravio looked back at him, and instantly his entire demeanor changed. Link, perhaps sensing this, began to make upset noises.

Ganondorf knew the second he saw the hate in Ravio's eyes. He knew the second he saw Ravio holding Link.

Ravio was going to take the boys.

And Ganondorf was going to let him.

* * *

"In the end," Ganondorf finished, "We settled things in court. Shadow stayed with me because I could afford his care, and Link went with Ravio. I'm sorry Link, I couldn't say no. You were the last memory of Hilda. I don't think I ever realized exactly how much Ravio cared for her."

He sighed. "We wrote up a document. We would never live in the same city. He would not have any rights regarding Shadow, and I would have no rights regarding Link. This was to make it so neither of us could change our minds and go after the other. This is why you were not to know about each other, until perhaps you were adults. We knew if you knew of each other you would want to meet, to get to know each other . . . but . . . after Hilda died, Ravio wanted nothing more to do with me."

"So . . . it was basically illegal for you and . . . uh, Ravio to be in the same _city?_ " Shadow exclaimed incredulously. "That's excessive, don't you think?"

Ganondorf shuffled uncomfortably in his chair. "It . . . it made more sense fourteen years ago."

"You guys didn't know how to just have a discussion."

"Yeah," Link joined, "You guys just seemed to fight over everything."

Ganondorf glared down at them both. "Easy for YOU to judge, you both had parents!"

Aryll suddenly began to laugh. She pointed at Ganondorf's angry face and fell off her seat from laughter.

Shadow laughed along, then threw his arms around Link again. "But what happened after that, Dad? Where'd Ravio go?"

"I think your grandmother can answer that better than I can. Ravio left town and I . . . never saw him again."

Everyone looked toward Granny, but she was fast asleep.

"Oh, Granny," said Shadow adoringly. "Wait . . . is she Hilda's mom?"

Link shook his head. "No. She my . . . Dad's wife's . . . uh . . . I guess my stepmom's . . . mom."

"So we're not related?"

"No. But I guess Aryll is. I guess we're only half siblings."

"Wait! Does that mean Aryll and ME are half siblings, too?!"

Link considered. "Yeah. Yeah I guess so."

Shadow grinned, showing all his fangs. "SWEET! I got a brother AND and sister?! My life is the best!"

"So . . . did I answer all of your questions?" Ganondorf asked.

Link squinted at him. "I . . . guess so."

"Yeah, Dad, you said some pretty mean things about Link," Shadow added. "Calling him poor and bad and stuff like that."

Ganondorf made a steeple with his hands and sat up straight. "I'm sorry."

"You're sorry? No explanation?"

"Nope. Probably just me picking a fight again. You know."

"Man . . ."

"All I can say now is I'm sorry."

"You were such a jerk."

"I'm sorry."

Sheik spoke up. "You were super creepy."

"I'm sorry."

"Your car sucks," Shadow piped.

"I'm . . . do you WANT to be grounded?"

Everyone laughed.

* * *

AN: BAM! Any questions? I think I got everything, but I'm not positive . . .


	22. Chapter 22

Hyrule never really got _cold_. It had vibrant springs and wonderfully hot summers and beautiful falls . . . but no real winters. At least not this near the sea.

It was still colder than Link liked. He wore his green wool coat with the dark green patches on the elbows, and his hoodie underneath that. He still felt cold. He wore brown fingerless gloves because he'd rather have freezing fingers than lack of feeling and mobility.

Not only that, the falling maple leaves kept blowing onto the skate park. They were a bit hard to maneuver around and kept getting stuck in his wheels. Stopping to release yet another leaf from the clutches of his skateboard, Link sighed.

Saria was wearing the same as ever, her green long-sleeve sweater and short green shorts and green headband. She was driving lazily around on her double-foot scooter.

"Hey, Saria!" Link called. The younger girl stopped. "You going to the battle of the bands on Saturday?"

Saria gave him a thumbs up. "Yup. See you there, skippy!"

Link smirked.

The Know-It-All Brothers were there, too. The triplet gingers who always wore matching color schemes. Today it was brown and orange camo. They were kicking around a hacky sack, their boards put up against the chain link fence surrounding the park.

Link joined them for a while, receiving three identical confirmations when he asked if they were going to the Battle of the Bands.

Of course, it would have been cooler if he could still announce his own band playing in it, but with Shadow out of commission and Sheik's life as stressful as it currently was with all the rumors in the media, they'd all decided as a group to forgo the performance.

It made Link sad, but there was always next year. It's not like he was a senior or anything.

Wait . . . Shad was. That meant they'd need a new bassist, as only highschool students could play in the competition . . .

Midna banged psychedelic nonstop rhythms on the drumset after it was decided, but Link had heard she'd found another band to play in, luckily. Link hadn't. He wanted to play with Shadow and Sheik and Shad and Midna, not some other band. He didn't feel he had the confidence to play without his friends . . .

Things with Shad had been okay. They went and got ice cream sometimes, and chatted a lot online after school. But Shad was super busy and applying to colleges, and there was that ever looming realization that Shad would be 18 soon.

Link hated to admit it, but he was thinking he'd have to break things off with Shad. But how do you break up with someone? He'd never broken up with someone before. Just thinking about it put him in a bad mood. Why did Shad have to be so busy?!

A kid on a BMX sped by him, launched up a ramp, and flipped his bike under him before landing.

It was Skullkid. The guy was wearing the same thing he always did, despite the cold weather. Still the orange hoodie and orange camo pants, the holy, too big tennis shows, and that freakish heart-shaped mask with spikes on the jawline. Skullkid turned around on his BMX bike and rode back to Link quickly. He stopped and did something Link never expected.

He said, "Hi."

Trying not to look too surprised, Link responded, "Hi." None of the skaters had ever heard Skullkid so much as mutter a single word the entire time they'd known him.

"Your skateboard's cool."

"Thanks . . ."

"So . . . where's that other kid? The one's always hangin' 'round you and that other guy?"

"You mean Shadow?"

Skullkid shrugged.

Link scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably. He had memories flash of Shadow and Skullkid constantly battling each other on the park and realized that Shadow was probably the closest thing to a 'friend' the mysterious Skullkid had ever had. "I'm sorry, Skullkid, did you not hear? Shadow had a heart attack. He's okay, but he can't skate any time soon. Maybe never."

Skullkid's shoulder's slumped. "Oh." His voice was emotionless, static. He looked away and slowly pedaled off. Link could tell he was upset, but wasn't sure what to do about it. Link picked up his board and ran after him. "Hey Skullkid!"

Skullkid slowed back to a stop and looked back.

"I'm sure Shadow'd like to see you, if you wanna go visit him."

Skullkid shook his head vigorously. "No."

Confused, Link wanted to ask why, but Skullkid had already gone ahead. _I wonder why he said no? It's like he was scared or something._

Link spent the next few minutes making up his mind, then eventually chased after and caught up with the Skullkid one more time.

Skullkid didn't say anything when Link blocked his way, just stopped and looked straight at him.

Link grinned. "Well . . . since Shadow can't be here, I'm going to be your friend from now on. Okay?"

Skullkid tilted his head. Then he shrugged. When his shoulders came back down . . . was there less of a slump there? Link decided to think there was. He smiled.

"Bet I can get more air than you can!" Link challenged.

"I doubt it," Skullkid replied.

SSS

When Link finally went home, it was dark. He opened the door to his house and went inside.

"Link! Link! Link!" Aryll came shooting from the living room.

"Aryll! Aryll! Aryll!" Link grinned down at her, eyes closed so she could look at his face. She liked it. She was getting better at looking into faces, but eyes still scared her. A lot. "Did you have a good day?"

"Seagull. Food. Link."

Shadow appeared from the living room and tackle-hugged Link. "Hello, brother!"

"Hi . . . brother," Link replied bashfully.

Aryll opened the front door. "Okay, bye bye Link!"

Shadow and Link looked at her. "No, Aryll, remember?" Link explained. "Shadow is sleeping here now."

She blinked, not comprehending. She closed the front door and opened it again. "Okay, bye bye Link!"

Link chuckled. Aryll called them both Link because she couldn't say Shadow's name. Actually, she tended to call anybody she liked Link. She'd even called Sheik Link a few times. "No, Aryll," he repeated. "Remember? Shadow is living with us for a while."

Shadow had called Link in the middle of the night just a few hours after Ganondorf had explained everything to them about their father.

" _Link! I'm freaking out!"_

" _Muh? Shadow?"_

" _I can't sleep, bro. You gotta come get me."_

" _Mrrrmuh huh?" Link forced himself to sit up. "What?" He smacked his lips a couple times. "Why?"_

" _You know how Dad talked about all those times he blew up at Ravio, and how he went to anger management classes and stuff?"_

" _. . . Yeah."_

" _Well . . . it's just got me nervous. What if he loses it again?"_

" _Shadow, you scared of Gandrf?" He couldn't pronounce the name this early in the morning. Night. What time was it?_

" _Yeah . . . I feel bad though, but I just can't get over it."_

 _Link slithered out of bed and pattered down the hall. "Graaandmaaaaaaa," he droned as he knocked on her door._

" _SHH! Dude, don't wake up Grammy! What are you doing?!"_

 _A few minutes passed until Link replied, "She's come to pick youflrepbb." There was the sound of a phone hitting bed covers before the call ended._

So Shadow had come to live with Link, Aryll, and Granny. Ganondorf had been surprisingly cool about it. It meant the big man came to visit their house as well a lot, but that actually turned out alright. Ganondorf still payed for Shadow's food and other needs so he wouldn't be a sudden burden on Granny's finances. Not that she'd mind, though.

Shadow was still recovering, so he spent the school days with Aryll and Granny. Aryll refused to even acknowledge Shadow's existence the first few days.

"She's not mad at you or anything," Link had explained. "She's just not used to you being here yet. She doesn't do well with change."

"Oh." Shadow grinned. "Okay." He then made it his mission to get as close to Aryll as possible, so she wouldn't be shocked by him.

She was still confused, like now, when nighttime came and Shadow didn't leave like he always used to.

Shadow let Link go and walked out the door. "Goodbye, Aryll!"

"Okay, bye bye Link!" Aryll shut the door behind him and headed for the stairs.

Shadow knocked. Aryll stopped. She turned around and, with permission from Link, opened the door.

"Hi, Aryll!" said Shadow. "May I come in?"

Aryll blinked at him. This had never happened before. Shadow coming to visit at nighttime? "Okay bye bye Link, I guess." She opened the door wider to let Shadow in and hurried upstairs to her room, scratching her head.

Shadow giggled, and Link shut the door behind him. Then Link stretched his arms up and over his head. "How was your day?" He asked.

Shadow grinned. "Great! Aryll, Romani and me went to a park, and I helped Aryll fly a kite!"

A sharp pain of jealousy ripped through Link's insides. It wasn't the first time. Ever since Shadow had come to their house, envy of the greenest kind began billowing up inside. First of all, for whatever reason, Aryll was not afraid of Shadow, nor was she bothered by him. At all. She could look straight at him, hold his bare hand, sit in his lap, even . . . _speak_ to him. Second of all, he got to spend so much MORE time with Aryll, now. Link was beginning to feel replaced. And useless. If she could communicate with Shadow, what did Aryll need Link for?

It made Link so jealous. So jealous he was _mad_. He tried to hold it in. "That's nice."

"Hold up, I'm gonna go get something. I'll be down for dinner in a minute."

"Okay." Link walked to the kitchen as Shadow bounded back up the stairs. Granny was finishing up cooking some peas, so Link decided to set the table. "Aryll! Aryll, time to do napkins!"

Aryll bounced into the kitchen and took the napkins from Link. Then she tugged on his shirt. He followed her, and she showed him how to shape the napkins into flower shapes.

"That's cool, Aryll, where'd you learn that?"

"Link!" she answered brightly.

Link knew quite distinctly that he was NOT the Link she was talking about. He forced the anger back down and said, as brightly as he could, "That's nice."

Eventually they sat down to dinner, and Shadow joined them. Granny prayed to the Goddesses, nand finally they dug in. Link just shlopped stuff onto his plate, not really caring if it all mixed together or not. Aryll, on the other hand, was busy aligning her carrots and peas to look nice before putting them one by one in her mouth. Shadow was so far only eating peas. Granny was still learning how to cook vegan, since Shadow was hilariously bad at cooking, turns out . . .

"So," Shadow began, holding out some sheet music. "I got this from the music store earlier today, and I thought we could learn it and maybe jam later?"

"Sure, whatever," Link answered coldly, stuffing a forkful of food in his mouth and sulking.

Shadow seemed a bit confused, but didn't quite clue in.

A rumble distracted Link, and he pulled the buzzing phone from his pocket. It was Shad.

" _Sry. Can't make it tonight. Maybe this weekend?"_

Link scowled.

"Link, don't check your phone at the table, please," Granny chided.

"Sorry, Grandma." How could Shad blow him off _again?_

"So anyway," Shadow continued, "I was teaching Aryll how to play guitar earlier, and she's actually pretty good—"

Link slammed his fork down and stood up.

"What—what did I say?" Shadow asked, meekly.

"Hmph."

"Link!" Granny scolded as Link roughly put his plate in the sink and stomped upstairs, not even pushing in his chair or excusing himself.

Aryll started giggling. "Link MAD!" Ever since Link had gotten mad at Ganondorf, Aryll thought Link getting mad was hilarious.

Link shut his bedroom door and belly flopped onto his bed. _This is the worst day ever_. That was a gross exaggeration, and he knew it, but it didn't make him feel any better about it. He rolled over onto his back. Why did this upset him so much? He should be happy Aryll was communicating so well, even if it wasn't with him, and Shad . . .

His breath caught. It just seemed like everyone he cared about was ignoring him completely, like he was slowly but steadily ceasing to exist.

Everybody thought he was doing fine. Nobody asked him how he was doing since his parents died. Everyone assumed he was okay because he never talked about it.

He wasn't okay.

Nobody even knew. Nobody at school knew him before his parents died. All his friends who did know him before were in Outset, Medli and Komali and Makar and the others. None of them called or sent letters. Occasionally he saw them online, but they never talked . . . Nobody knew him. Not the real him, anyway.

Except . . .

He flipped open his phone and speed dialed.

"Hi Link!" Sheik thankfully picked up.

"Hi Sheik."

"What's up?"

"Oh . . . nothing . . ."

"That doesn't sound good. What's wrong?"

Link rolled onto his belly again, his arms and head hanging over the side of his bed. He picked at the worn wooden floorboards. "Nothing . . . I just . . . had a really bad day, that's all."

"Aw, what happened?"

"Shad's ignoring me."

"What? Why?"

"I dunno!" Link whined, then lowered his voice again. "And that's not everything."

"No? How are you and Shadow getting along?"

"Shadow . . ." Link almost growled.

"Whoa, did you two have a fight?"

"Not exactly . . ."

"Well Link, it's not weird that you'd get annoyed by each other being around each other so much."

"I know. It's been . . ." He glanced over at Shadow's side of the room. Granny's house was small, so the boys had to share Link's room. "Different," he finished. Then with a shaky voice, added, "Really different. Hey, Sheik?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think . . . do you think I'm a worthwhile person?"

"Huh? Well, duh, of course I do! What made you wonder?"

"Well, it just seems like nobody really needs me right now."

Sheik giggled.

"What?"

"I really need you, Link. I'm actually really glad you called."

"Why?"

"Mom and Dad have been fighting about me since I came out. And when they're not fighting, they ignoring each other. Mom stares at me like she doesn't know what to do, and Dad just looks really disappointed all of the time. It's really nice to hear a friendly voice . . ."

"Gee, Sheik, I had no idea."

"Yeah. So, stop thinking you're not needed, okay?"

The barest glimmer of a smile returned to Link's face. "Okay. Hey, Sheik?"

"Yeah?"

"I need you, too, buddy."


	23. Chapter 23

AN: Song Sheik sings is called All Around Me by Flyleaf. I HIGHLY recommend listening so you get an idea of how Sheik is singing/dancing. Lacey Sturm is the singer's name and she's amazing!

Thank you to all my new followers! I've gotten so many new ones the last couple weeks! :) Some of you don't have messaging enabled, so I'll say it here: THANK YOU!

Also thanks to my regular reviewers Moonlight Raven Grave and Sunnystormcloud and Templeofsouls! And anyone I've missed, I'M SORRY!

Thank you to my new reviewers, KreinReign and MidnaWolf Tamer!

Thanks everyone else who reviews, favorites, and/or follows!

Finally, sorry it's a day late!

* * *

There were definite upsides to living with Link and the rest of his brand new family. First, he could share his guitar with Link so Link could practice outside of school, and that was pretty awesome. Second, Granny actually BOTHERED to cook vegan meals for him, so he literally always had food. There was ALWAYS produce in the fridge and on the counter, carrots and apples and bananas—BANANAS! On top of that, he got to hang out with Aryll. He got to help her with her studies with Romani, her private tutor and caretaker. Romani said having him there helped Aryll have fun, and that made him quite happy with himself.

He felt NEEDED here.

He felt WANTED here.

Granny didn't mind him talking to her while she was cooking, and she didn't mind him helping, either. Shadow spent a lot of time at night talking to Link. Link never talked much anyway, and he didn't seem to mind. Aryll liked it when he talked. No one told him to shut up. Nobody ignored him.

And best of all, when he made a mistake, nobody got really mad at him.

Suddenly making mistakes just wasn't that big of a deal.

* * *

It was Saturday, and Link was sleeping in. He'd gotten mad last night, and Shadow had, well, _overheard_ something about Link's boyfriend, Shad.

What? So he listened outside Link's door. He couldn't stand Link being mad at him . . . He pulled off his earphones and got off his makeshift bed, padding in his bunny slippers—well, Link's bunny slippers—to Link's bed. Link looked completely out, his hair skewed all over the place.

"Hey, Link!" Shadow said.

Link didn't move.

"Liiiiiink!"

A groan.

"Link!" He grabbed a stuffed Deku Friend from the shelf and lightly thwapped Link's face with it. "Up and at 'em, boyo boy!"

Link sleepily scrabbled for the Deku friend and ripped it out of Shadow's hand. "Stoooooooooop," he moaned. Shadow retreated back to his bed, but not before Link tossed the Deku friend back at his head.

"PFF!" The momentum of the pillow sent him flying onto his mattress. He sat back up, laughing. "Nice throw!"

"Leave me alone, Shadow," Link whined, rolling over and sinking his face into his pillow.

Shadow knew if he left him alone he'd fall asleep again, so he sprinted back over. "Dude, it's almost NOON! Aryll's been waiting for HOURRRSS and just because I love you, buddy, I'm gonna go off and not interfere AT ALL. So it'll just be you and Aryll again. Okay?"

That finally got his attention. Link raised his head and wiped his face. "Huh? . . . You don't have to do that, Shadow."

Shadow grinned, pretending he didn't feel a little sad. "Come on, Link. It's been a while since it was just you and Aryll, right?"

Link pushed his covers aside and frowned up at Shadow. "Well yeah, but—"

"It's settled then! I'll go visit Sheik and you won't hear a PEEP from me until the sun goes down. See ya, Link!" Shadow made a beeline for the door.

Two heavy thumps later and a hand stopped him. "Hold up, Shadow!"

Shadow bit his lower lip and fussed with the ends of his hair.

"You don't have to leave," Link said, pushing Shadow's shoulder so they were facing each other.

"But you and Aryll—"

"Well, so? You're her brother as much as I am. You should be here. At least some of the time. You're my brother. You belong here. You shouldn't go."

Shadow looked up. "Really?"

Link nodded.

"Oh. Well, I thought . . . I thought maybe you didn't . . . didn't _want_ me here."

"That's not true."

"Why were you mad at me last night?"

"I was just—It's just different, you know? You're right, it isn't just me and Aryll anymore, but that's not a _bad thing_. Not even close!"

Quietly, Shadow responded, "Do you really mean that, Link?"

Link, fully awake now, grinned. "Yup. You should spend Saturday with me and Aryll. It's Aryll's day, and now she's got TWO brothers to hang out with!"

Shadow grinned widely, probably wider than he ever had before. "WOO! We should go get ice cream!"

* * *

Link, Shadow, Aryll, and Granny sat around the table at the ice cream shop on the corner of Rauru and Main. Aryll got cotton candy, because it was light blue, her favorite color. She did her usual, take one bite, squish it around her mouth seven times, and then swallow. Shadow mimicked her, including the counting noises she made through her nose, and every time they both swallowed she broke into giggling laughter. Shadow got Darknut Supreme, a vegan option made of coconut milk, dark chocolate ice cream with chocolate chunks, marshmallows, and vegan chocolate fudge sauce. And nuts.

In the midst of laughing, Shadow accidentally miscalculated where his bowl of ice cream was and ended up getting chocolate on his nose. Aryll thought this was the funniest thing _ever_ , and laughed so hard with her head thrown back that she actually fell out of her seat. She seemed fine because she kept laughing. Shadow laughed loudly as well.

Link got off his seat and held his arms out to Aryll. "Are you okay, Aryll?"

Still laughing, Aryll grabbed one of Link's hands and used it to pull herself up. Then she sat back down in her seat, her giggles finally subsiding, and took another bite of ice cream, chuckling to herself.

Link stood in shock. Shadow gave him a knowing smile. Granny looked like she might cry.

Aryll held his hand. She didn't flinch or anything. It didn't bother her at all. She just happily went back to eating her ice cream. Link's hands flew to his face. He felt so happy he couldn't breathe. _I don't care if it NEVER happens again, Aryll held my hand!_ He pushed his hands up and into his hair, revealing the happiest smile ever seen on a Hylian in the history of Hylians.

That's what it looked like to Shadow, anyhow.

"Hey, Aryll," Link said, leaning on her chair. Aryll looked up, not exactly at him, but up. "I love you, Aryll!"

Aryll broke into a smile. "Link! Love Link! Aryll good girl!"

Link chuckled. "Yes, you're a very good sister, Aryll."

"S-s-sister?"

Link sat back in his own seat, unable to look away from Aryll's happy face.

* * *

Shadow and Aryll huddled under his bed covers, holding flashlights under their chins. "And THEN," Shadow continued, "There appeared a SHADOW MONSTER!"

Aryll gasped dramatically. She couldn't understand what Shadow was saying, but she figured out when to gasp anyhow.

"Mr. Fab Hair and his friends raaaaan from the monster and back to the stairs. They barely made it in time. They SLAMMED THE DOOR!"

"AAAAAAH!"

Link's head popped underneath the covers. "What'cha doin'?"

Shadow grinned. "Oh, hey Link! I was telling Aryll about that time we snuck into Dad's basement."

"Here, lemme tell it." Link held his hand out, and Shadow handed him the flashlight. Link held it under his chin. "But then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked!"

Aryll gasped.

Shadow laughed and smacked Link's face with a pillow. Link grinned and climbed under the covers with them.

Unbeknownst to all of them, Granny walked by the bedroom door, which was ajar. She smiled a smile only parents and grandparents could smile, that smile when they know something good that is supposed to happen has happened, and they know exactly how good it is. She gave a contented sigh, and continued passing by, going to her room.

* * *

Sheik walked in a few minutes later. "Hey! Everybody ready to go?"

"Oh right, I totally forgot!" Shadow said, rising from under the bed covers. "Battle of the Bands is tonight!"

Sheik grinned and nodded. "And, uuuh . . . I'm performing so you two had better be there!"

Shadow and Link, who had also appeared out of the covers, gaped at Sheik. "Seriously?!" Shadow exclaimed, his voice squeaking.

"Yep!"

"THAT'S AWESOME!"

Link glanced out the window. He hated this time of year in Hyrule. It was only 6 P.M., but it was already dark outside. Then the night was totally forgotten. "OMG! I forgot to tell you guys!" He jumped off the bed. "Some kids from my school in Outset are performing. I guess they got in the top three at their school and are coming here to compete."

"Awesome! What' their band name?"

"The Indigo-Gos."

Aryll was peeking out of the covers at everyone. "LINK!" She shouted.

"Yeah!" Link replied.

Aryll jumped off the bed and began running in circles, singing some tune off the top of her head.

Link joined in, chasing her around the room.

"I'm confused," said Shadow.

"Me, too," Sheik added.

Link slowed down to catch his breath. "It's one of their songs! Aryll and I used to hang out with them when they'd practice." The band guitarist, Mikau, had been especially nice to Aryll. They'd been middle school kids then, so Link was excited to see how much everybody had grown.

* * *

The auditorium was noisy. Aryll sat with her hands over her ears in discomfort, but Link was pretty sure she'd be okay once the music started. She really liked music, and she wanted to see Mikau and the others, too.

Link wrote out an excited text to Mikau. _Real awesome to see you, dude!_

Mikau replied a bit later. _You too, Link ;) watch for special message!_

 _Alright!_

Aryll sat between Shadow and Link, and Granny sat next to Shadow. Ganondorf wasn't here. Said he didn't have time. Sheik was backstage, but Link saved him a seat next to him for after he finished the performance.

First up from their own school was The Kokiris, who sounded better when they were middle schoolers, but still pretty good. They were followed by the Sages, who specialized in electronica and funky dance moves. They were from the Light Temple Private School. Third was a group of four similar looking blond boys in different colored outfits: red, blue, green, and . . . violet? Shadow thought they were great, but Link was weirded out by their synchronized dances. Were they people or robots? They were from a school in Kakariko, and they were in a boy band style, singing in harmony with one another.

Finally, a group of five Zoras came onto the stage. Link leapt from his seat and started clapping right away. "WOO-HOO! GO INDIGO GOS! OUTSET FOREVER!"

The band members waved at Link before setting up. First there was Evan, the main lyricist, a brown Zora with a protruding face and itty eyes. Then there was Japas, the bassist who styled his head fin like the metal heads of old, and Tijo, the jolly drummer. Then there was Mikau, the lead guitarist. It had been a while since Link had seen him, but MAN! The guy was ripped for a teenager, and he even had tattoos, with one big one wrapping around his shoulder and down his arm. Link shook his head. Was he allowed in school with those? He pulled out his signature bone-guitar and began strumming. Tijo joined in, drumming the intro in a syncopated frenzy. Japas joined in on the downbeat, adding bass, and Evan played his keyboard, adding organ-like sounds. The band was primarily blues, and this performance was no different.

Mikau spoke into the mic. "How we doin', Hyrule?!"

Hyrule responded with loud yells and cheers.

"Alright!" His fingers flew over the guitar so quickly even Shadow gasped. "This song goes out to a friend of mine. I know he'll recognize it. This ain't original, folks, this is Song of a Seagull by Lenora Knight!"

Link and Granny both gasped. Shadow and Sheik leaned over to Link. "That's your mom's name!"

Link nodded dumbly. His step mom had taught the song to Mikau and the others when they were kids. He grinned.

Mikau broke into an insane riff, before backing from the front of the stage. A shadow appeared on the wall behind, a silhouette, and then the curtains came apart and a beautiful Zora teenager stood in a brilliant blue dress. This was Lulu, the band's lead singer. She stepped onto the stage in time to the music, approaching the mic at the front with the far off expression of a singer who is practiced at getting into the music. Her voice took the audience away to the beach during a sunset.

They received a standing ovation, and Link was pretty sure they were gonna win the competition. His hands already hurt from clapping so hard. Aryll had been humming along with the tune. Shadow was trying to play air guitar to figure out Mikau's guitar moves.

The Indigo-Gos left the stage, and then a single person came on stage and approached the mic. There were some murmurs in the crowd, a few half-hearted claps.

It was Sheik, dressed like a boy, as himself, as usual these days.

Shadow made use of his rock star vocals and whooped loudly for Sheik's benefit. Link joined. Sheik grinned in their direction. Midna whistled from the audience. Soft clapping came from the front of the auditorium. Link saw it was Sheik's mother, and he smiled. Her husband, the king, remained silent. Somebody in the audience was waving a fist around, going, "Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!" enthusiastically. Link and Shadow glanced and found Groose, of all people, cheering for Sheik. They glanced at each other, and Shadow shrugged in confusion. They watched as a flush covered Sheik's face as he timidly waved at Groose.

Link and Shadow glanced at each other again. What was happening _there?_ Sheik hated Groose. Groose was most definitely not gay. So, like . . . what?

Music began to play. Link and Shadow recognized it as one of Sheik's favorite religious rock songs. He lowered his head, his hair hanging over his face, tapping his heel, fingers tapping his leg. His movements were fluid as he sang, completely overtaken by the music and the words of his song. The song was a passionate thanksgiving and expression of faith. Sheik's singing was so emotional that the entire auditorium was silent, frozen, listening quietly until the chorus.

" _I can feel You all around me_

 _thickening the air I'm breathing!_

 _Holding on to what I'm feeling_

 _savoring this heart that's healing!"_

Some of the audience finally decided to start cheering. All of Sheik's friends who were still his friends clapped and yelled.

Into the second verse, Sheik's father rose from his seat and walked into the aisle. Sheik's voice fumbled as he watched his father walk out on his performance. Shadow quickly pulled his phone out, turned it into flashlight mode, and waved it over his head, and Link yelled louder, both of them letting Sheik know they were there, they were listening, and encouraging him to keep going.

Sheik visibly composed himself as much as he could. Everyone could tell he was shaken, but Sheik yelled the next lyrics out like a declaration:

" _I'M ALIVE!_

I'M ALIVE!"

* * *

Sheik made his way shakily off the stage, was joined by his mother, and they walked up the aisle to where Link, Shadow, Aryll, and Granny sat. Shadow clambered over the others and ran to meet him, throwing his arms around Sheik's neck. "Wow!" Shadow said. "Just . . . wow! You're amazing, you almost made me think maybe there's something to believe in, after all. I feel you, Sheik, I feel you! I NEVER should have said no when you wanted to sing a religious song in our band. I NEVER should have done that, and I'm sorry." He hugged Sheik tightly.

Sheik was shaking viciously, and it even showed in his voice as he replied, "Thank you." Shadow led him to his seat, and Link and Granny showered him with compliments.

They were too busy helping Sheik get comfortable and ignore the stares from the crowd to really listen to the next two bands, but eventually Sheik stopped shaking with both Link and Shadow's arms around him. Aryll and Sheik had switched seats. Aryll sat next to Granny, now. She chewed on her hair and reached over to pat Sheik's knee.

The next performer was a surprise, another solo act. Link asked Granny for the program and looked for the guy's name. But the band scheduled next had four members, and Link knew them to wear bright colors. The soloist had a worn face, blue eyes that looked heavy. He had black hair and wore black clothes. Black mist followed him on stage, gathering around him, making the lights dappled and muted. He looked like a teenager in some ways, but his face and eyes made him seem a lot older. How much older Link had no clue. He looked Hylian. The special effects made him seem almost insubstantial, his hair and clothes and face melding into the shadowy mists as though he were part of them.

Link had no idea who this guy was. Apparently no one else did, either. Nobody cheered, and most were confused why he was playing and not the other band. The special effects seemed planned, though, so it must be a mistake in the printing, or something . . .

A guitar appeared as if from nowhere. The amp must have been hidden in the mists, because the guitar was louder than any other guitar, so loud it reverberated through Link's chest and shook the seats. He didn't speak, he didn't sing. He just played a ridiculous solo that got into Link's brain and he couldn't shut it out. He shut his eyes and shook his head, trying to get the noise out, but it kept digging back inside.

Other members of the audience were having trouble as well. The only ones who seemed unaffected were Sheik, his mother, and Aryll. They just seemed confused.

The mist collected in a way that it collected light and the soloist became a perfect silhouette.

One Sheik recognized. He grabbed Shadow's shoulder and whispered urgently, "Tell me that isn't the thing from your dad's basement!"

Shadow didn't answer. "Oooouch!" was his only reply, face scrunched, hands over his ears.

Sheik got to his feet and yelled, "STOP!" Light magic flowed through the words, and the whole building felt a shift in energies. The black mists disappeared, and so did the soloist.

Sheik breathed a sigh of relief, and looked down at his friends. "Are you guys . . ."

They weren't moving.

No one was.

Time had stopped.


	24. Chapter 24

AN: Thanks for the reviews! Just finished finals, so I'm a bit too braindead for a thoughtful author's comment . . .

* * *

Chapter ENTER NEW STORY ARC!

Sheik was wigging out. What? YOU look at human beings, who are MEANT to move, and see them NOT moving—like NOTHING MOVING, not even THE EARTH—and see if YOU don't get creeped out! He waved his hands in front of his friends faces, then trepidatiously pointed a finger and poked Link's cowlick. It flicked. _This is so weird . . . how did I get here?!_

He looked at his mother. She was frozen, too. Why? So was Aryll. But they hadn't been affected by the weird rock guy's music. Why were THEY frozen? Sheik got to his feet and shouted, "IS ANYBODY OUT THERE?!"

Sheik's ears pricked, and he spun about.

The freaky soloist with the black mists was right behind him, giving him the most quizzical stare. He had a round face and a wide mouth, and stumpy pointed ears. His hair was wispy and straight. And light blue, like his eyes. He had a button nose, and Sheik was sure if he had spent time out in the sun he'd be one of those people with lots of cheek freckles.

Sheik didn't find him that scary. "Um, hello."

" **Why aren't you frozen?** " The being asked. His legs floated _through_ the seats and people as he circled Sheik. He put his hands on his hips. " **Everyone else is. Even your stupid queen.** "

So he'd been wondering the same thing as Sheik. Shrugging with his hands, Sheik replied, "Prince of Destiny." That made no sense, though. There was nothing different between him and his mother. Unless . . . could it be he was, in fact, THE prince of destiny?! Did he have super powers?

 _I'm gonna be a real life magical boy!_

The being glared at him skeptically.

"So . . . what are you doing here?" Sheik asked.

" **Getting back what's MINE!** "

"You're the monster from Ganondorf's basement, aren't you?"

A spark of fear. The being shot back through several seats until he was floating in the air above the audience.

Sheik suddenly felt a flood of sympathy. This wasn't a monster, it wasn't even just an animal. It was a sentient being, one that could talk and reason. The implications of it . . . Ganondorf experimenting on live, human subjects?! "Ganondorf captured you, didn't he?"

The being looked ready to spit.

"Where are you from?"

The being glanced sideways at him, warily. " **I don't know if you have a name for it.** "

"Try me."

" **I exist on a different plane, one you people pay no attention to.** "

"The Shadow Realm?"

The being scoffed. " **That's what YOU call it! For me, YOU are the shadows!** "

Logically, it was impossible for shadow beings to cross over into this world, and vice versa. Unlike the Twilight Realm, the Shadow Realm and Light World were mirrored so closely that it was impossible to move from one to the other. And yet, somehow Ganondorf had managed to bring a shadow here. "Why did Ganondorf bring you here?"

" **Are you not LISTENINIG?!** " The being's voice climbed in volume and echoed around the chamber. " **I'm not a person to you! I'm just a SHADOW! You have no qualms about using me for your OWN DESIGNS!** "

"What do you mean?"

" **GANONDORF!** " he boomed. He vanished, then appeared a few feet away, glaring viciously at, not Sheik, but Shadow's frozen form. " **His little whelp's heart was giving out, so he trapped me and gave him MY HEART INSTEAD!** " His voice had a ripping quality, like a helpless, trapped animal.

"Your heart? . . . He . . ."

No. No, it was too terrible. Sheik brought a hand to his face as his mind connected the dots.

The being covered his face and his body writhed in the air in anguish. " **For YEARS he would come. He would come and RIP a piece of my heart out! He ripped and ripped until now there's nothing left. I tried to stop him. I pleaded for my life, BUT HE DIDN'T LISTEN TO ME! He treated me like . . . like an** _ **animal**_ **. No, worse, a low-grade** _ **monster.**_ "

"But—but . . . how are you still alive then?" Sheik asked, with a nervous chuckle. "Isn't the purpose of a heart to, uh . . . keep you alive?"

The being vanished again, popping right in front of Sheik's face. Sheik fell backward in alarm.

" **DO YOU KNOW WHAT I'VE DONE?! DO YOU KNOW WHAT I'VE DONE BECAUSE I HAVE NO HEART?!** " His face darkened, a haunted look. He was no longer focused on Sheik's face, but rather an imaginary point somewhere beyond Sheik. " **I really am a monster. I WANT MY HEART BACK! IT'S MINE!** " He floated over the Shadow, grabbed him, and pulled an arm back, his fingers becoming shadowy claws.

Sheik's eyes widened. "WAIT! STOP!"

The being jerked. He sent Sheik a withering glare. " **Stop doing that.** "

"You can't take Shadow's heart! He'll die!"

" **So?! It's rightfully mine!** "

"I know you're angry, and you should be! But . . . you can't possibly think killing another living being is the answer!"

A look of utter self disgust crossed the being's features. That and fury. " **Remember what I said about having no heart? He wouldn't be the first I've killed.** "

"So . . . so your heart is your moral compass? You don't feel this is wrong?"

" **I feel nothing.** "

"Wow. Wait, first? How . . . how many people have you killed."

The being seemed to forget about Shadow momentarily, causing Sheik to sigh inaudibly in relief. " **Mostly animals. A few homeless people.** "

Sheik's gut plummeted. "Why?"

" **For their hearts.** "

"You take their hearts?"

" **No, I** _ **eat them!**_ "

"But you gotta have SOME heart left, you eat mostly animals, not people."

" **That's because right now I have the heart of a DOG!** " He rolled his eyes. " **Dog's and their people!** " He again hovered before Shadow. " **They don't last long enough, they're not MINE. I need MY heart back!** "

"WAIT!" Sheik cried, before the being could try to rip Shadow's heart out again. "It's not going to work!"

The being looked legitimately confused. " **What?** "

"It's just . . . Shadow had a heart attack. Your heart isn't working for him, either."

The being balked, his entire face whitening. " **What do you . . .** " He shook his head, replacing his look of horror with one of determination. " **Doesn't matter. A few moments more with my heart before I finally DIE in peace is good enough for me.** "

Sheik could see the longing on the shadow's face. He didn't want to think how much the being had suffered—for fourteen years! Now, he just wanted his heart back. He wanted _himself_ back. "What if I could help you? What if I could make it so you could get your heart back and live?"

The being raised an eyebrow. " **That would be preferable. Living, I mean.** "

 _Great, I've got his attention!_ "Well, then you can't take Shadow's heart. Not yet. I . . . I have to find a way to keep him alive, too."

The being frowned in distaste. "How long?"

". . . I don't know," Sheik answered reluctantly.

" **HOW LONG?!** "

"Weeks! At least! I don't know! But I promise, I WILL find a way to get your heart back, and in a way that you won't die when it happens. Right now what's left of Shadow's heart is all that's keeping YOUR heart alive. So . . . you can't take it now. You just have to be patient."

" **I don't have much time left.** "

"I'll do my best."

The being got into Sheik's face again. " **Fine. I'll just kill a human being every day until you finish!** "

"NO." Sheik stated firmly. "If you want my help, then from now on you only kill animals."

The being backed off. " **You have two weeks. If you don't finish by then—** "

"I know, I know," Sheik interrupted, not really wanting to hear it again. "You'll eat Shadow's heart. I got it."

" **No.** " The being's arm flew out, and a finger pointed directly at Link. " **I'll eat HIS heart.** " The finger moved along, to point at Sheik's mother. " **Then HER heart."** Hebegan stepping back, away from Sheik and to the shadows in the corners of the room. " **Then I'll eat Shadow's.** " He had almost completely disappeared. " **THEN I'll eat yours.** "

The weight of those words were a crushing force against Sheik, but he kept standing.

Suddenly time began to move again.

"AAAH!" Shadow shrieked. "Sheik! You were sitting, now you're . . . you're over there, you're, what, I," he grabbed his head. "I don't get it!"

"Sheik, why'd you yell like that?" Link asked. He looked at the stage. "What happened? Where's the guy? Did he finish already?" He leaned back in his seat. "Man, who was that guy?"

Sheik felt a tickle of air next to his ear.

" **One more thing, Princey.** "

Sheik froze on the spot.

" **If you mention any of this to your friends, or to Ganondorf . . . I will murder everyone you know.** "

The being didn't say anything else, but Sheik kept his ears pricked just in case.

"Sheik? You okay?" Link asked.

"Huh? Yeah, just . . . just thinking." Sheik sat down.

"Do you wanna leave?" Link obviously thought Sheik's performance was still weighing him down. Sheik was too shaken to even try to get him to see it was anything else. Was the being watching? Could he follow him everywhere?

Sheik did NOT like that thought. _I don't even know where to begin_ , he thought. He had been going to get help, possibly from his mother, or even from Ganondorf, figure out how this heart stuff worked. Now he was going to have to do it all by himself?

 _Maybe . . . maybe I can convince that shadow guy to change his mind . . ._


	25. Chapter 25

AN: Sorry for no chapter last week! It was Christmas. I did update Shadowed Past at some point during the break, though? There weren't as many views, so I figure people were busy with celebrations anyways, which makes me happy! Make sure you don't accidentally skip a chapter!

Thanks for the reviews! I'll catch up on responses next week! Ya'll are the best!

* * *

Chapter Le Awful Beginings

". . . 4 . . . 5 . . . 6 . . . aaaaaw, friggin Deku nuts!"

Shadow burst out laughing. "Pay up, Prince Hyrule!"

Sheik started counting whatever cash he had left. "You're making me mortgage Zora's Domain! That's cold, man."

Shadow continued to laugh as Sheik returned his houses to the bank and mortgaged his Monopoly properties.

"I've gone bankrupt!" Sheik threw his hands up in the air, and Shadow moved in immediately to collect all of the prince's fake money and assets.

Link grabbed his wrist. "Hey! We're supposed to auction those properties!"

Shadow gave him a coquettish look. "Darling, you REALLY don't think you can outbid me with forty bucks and MINISH VILLAGE, do you?"

Link released him. "I guess not. And DON'T call me darling!"

"Hihihihihihi!" Shadow pulled basically the entirety of the game's currency and properties to himself.

"Shut up, Shadow." Sheik crossed his arm.

"But I'm RICH! Hey Link, your turn—waaaaaaaait you already went!" Shadow's eyes opened wider. Link looked far away and tapped his arm. "You landed on MEEEEEEEEEEE! Hand over that village, pauper!"

Link flipped back to Shadow and pointed at him. "Oh it is ON! I declare a rematch!"

"You wanna go for broke again, Hero? You got it!"

"Don't call me Hero, Shad calls me Hero . . ."

Sheik scratched his head. It had only been a day since the concert, but he hadn't even begun to figure a way out of his predicament with the . . . the shadow creature thing came from the basement.

That sounded like a bad Goosebumps novel.

By this time Shadow and Link were wrestling like good ol' brothers, messing the organization of the board up completely—not that it mattered. Sheik and Link were toast. "Hey guys! I don't think I can play another match."

The other boys stopped wrestling long enough for Shadow to give Sheik a pout. "Aaaaw, why not?"

"Um . . . I got some extra studying to do. That's all."

Link pulled himself out of Shadow's headlock—he'd only stayed in it to humor the muscle-less guy. "Really? That's weird. I don't have any homework due until Wednesday."

"Yeah, me either," Shadow admitted.

Sheik quickly began picking up the game. The faster they left, the less chance of them seeing the flush that grew on his face every second the lie sat in the air.

* * *

The mansion Sheik lived in with his family was a refurbished castle from ancient days. Most of the castle was used by the public, and only one small wing and a ballroom was left for the Harkinian family to live in. The services the castle provided were those usually provided by City Halls, a courtyard for community meetings and celebrations, as well as an extensive academic library. This is where Hyrule Castle High got the content for most of its award-winning history programs.

Sheik had checked the time before he left his room. He had two hours before the library closed. Plenty of time. He had to study up on . . . shadows and . . . hearts and . . . _I don't even KNOW where to begin! Prince of Wisdom my ankle!_

That was really the only thing he was sure of now. He had always suspected that he was a literal reincarnation of Hylia, but . . . for goodness sake, _he was a boy!_ Would Hylia really entrust her powers to somebody who didn't fit the sparkly princess bill?

Still, he knew that he was. It was the only explanation as to why he hadn't been frozen in time like his friends, and even his mother—who obviously was NOT a reincarnation of Hylia. It was the only reason he could even have BEGUN to counter the power of the shadow creature that crashed the Battle of the Bands.

When the creature left, everything started up again, just like before. People wondered where the performer went, they looked around, some gave confused claps . . . and the show went on.

Nobody noticed a thing.

Sheik had to bite his tongue the whole time to keep from telling the others what went on while time was . . . frozen. He shook his head. _This is WAY too much._ He had to wonder if anything had . . . actually happened! _Am I crazy? Did I just imagine everything?_ Sheik looked at the stack of books in his arms he'd collected since entering the library. _Maybe it's all the stress I've been under. You know, Shadow always says you do too much studying. Maybe he's right._ He set the books down at a table and sat down to skim through them.

After five books without even getting a real grip on how to start, Sheik flipped the recent one closed. _This is stupid . . . I should just go tell my mom . . ._

" **Not thinking about snitching, are you?** "

Sheik froze. He looked this way and that, then hunched in his seat and whispered, " _What are you doing here?!_ "

" **Making sure you do what you said you'd do.** " A cackle. " **Doesn't look good, princey.** "

"Look you . . . you . . . do you have a name or something?"

" **Call me Krad.** " The creature suddenly appeared next to Sheik. His head and shoulders anyway, hovering upside down, their eyes level with each other.

"Krad? Really?"

" **You no like?** "

"No it's just . . . it spells 'dark' backwards."

" **I'm also called Wodash.** "

Sheik deadpanned. "That . . . spells 'shadow' backwards." If you considered ancient Hylian, where the "sh" sound was one letter rather than two, that is.

" **Well, I AM a reflection.** "

Shaking his head, Sheik opened the next book. _Nothing else for it, then, if he's WATCHING me . . . really creepy._

Krad disappeared again.

* * *

" **What are you doing?** "

Sheik shrieked. Then hissed, "Shhhh! Don't do that!"

Another library visitor was sitting at the other end of the table, with a pile of books comparable to Sheik's own, and he looked up curiously at Sheik. He was near Sheik's age, but not exactly, and he looked familiar, but Sheik couldn't put his finger on it.

" **What ARE you doing?** "

"I'm trying to fix your heart problem!" Sheik muttered under his breath.

" **I thought there'd be more . . . you know, wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff.** "

Sheik felt a cold finger on his neck, and he shuddered like a leaf in the wind. His book fell out of his hands and he shrieked with all of his female vocal chords, "EEK! Don't touch me!"

The person at the end up the table looked up again. "ExCUSE me—" he halted, and merely stared.

Sheik chuckled nervously, much more girl-sounding than he meant to, and replied, "So sorry! Just . . ." He grabbed a random book. "It's such an exciting subject!"

"Exorcisms and blood rituals involving dead frogs and liver transplants? Sounds absolutely boorish."

Sheik realized with a furious blush, he was holding the book upside down. He flipped it around and set it aside. He looked accusingly to his left. Krad was still hovering over there, staring at Sheik's face. "Stop that," Sheik hissed.

" **What?** "

"Stop STARING." Sheik hunkered down and glanced over his current book at the library's other bookworm. He was also staring. Again.

" **W—** "

"Sh."

The boy at the end of the table set down his book and stood up. He did so in a way that made every move seem measured. As he walked over to Sheik's side of the table, he held perfect posture and had a polished sort of air about him. "Just what ARE you studying?" He stopped next to Sheik's seat. Slender, perfectly manicured hands picked up the book Sheik had shown him before and flipped through it. He stopped on a page that showed the dissection of a Hylian for the most efficient way of extracting a liver. A cold smile lifted one corner of his mouth. "Okay, maybe this IS pretty interesting . . ."

That look. Sheik shuddered visibly. "Where have I seen you before?" he asked, since it was driving him crazy—among other things. Or beings.

He looked up. He had hollow eyes, and not in the sunken way. The irises of his eyes were such a light blue, they looked hollow. But was that the color or the person beneath them? "Battle of the Bands," he answered. "Last night, perhaps? My group performed."

Sheik wracked his brains. "Oh yeaaaah, you were part of that group of the lookalikes. You were all blond with different colored shirts. You were . . ."

"The violet one."

"Vio! Right!" He'd read their names on the program. Upon closer inspection, though, it seemed that maybe Vio's blondness wasn't actually natural. There were auburn lines near the roots. Perhaps that's what had thrown Sheik off at first and why he didn't recognize him. "I'm Sheik. Nice to meet you."

"Sheik . . .?" Vio shrugged. "Okay, then."

Sheik frowned and put his cheek on a fist. "I knooooow, I'm supposed to be Princess Zelda. Don't ask me about it, please."

"I said 'okay, then.'"

"You mean . . . you don't care?"

"That's correct. I do not care."

Sheik sighed in relief. "You know, it's really great to hear that, because—"

Vio interrupted him with a wide, overwhelmed look. "I said, 'I don't care.'"

"You . . ."

"It isn't about me, so no, I don't really care to hear about it." Vio set down the book and sat on the edge of the table.

 _Why is he still here?_ "Do you have any idea where shadows come from?"

"The Shadow Realm."

"Well, yeah, but do we actually know anything about it?"

Vio looked annoyed. "Like what?"

"Like . . . how their bodies work, like . . . their hearts."

"Why should you care?" Vio asked with a certain measure of control not needed for such a question. "It's not like you'll ever meet a shadow person in your entire lifetime. It's not possible to move from here to there."

"What if it is?" Sheik asked. "What if they cross over, and we just don't even know about it?"

"Like aliens."

Sheik blushed. "Yeah, like . . . aliens." _I hate you, Krad. Why won't you just let me come right out and say something? Wouldn't that be easier and more likely to get you help?_

Vio still seemed interested, though. There was a hungry look in his eyes. Sheik wasn't sure if he liked that look or not.

Krad chose just then to interject, " **He's nuts.** "

"How old ARE you?" Sheik muttered.

"Hm?" Vio replied. "Fifteen. Why?"

"Uh . . . no reason." It was obvious Krad wasn't worried about being seen. Didn't seem like passersby noticed him anyway. It must only be Sheik who could see him. _I should really consider the possibility that I've just gone crazy_.

" **There isn't really time where I'm from. There're only years in the Light Realm . . . I don't know how old I am!** "

"Boy that's convenient."

"What's convenient?"

Sheik sighed. "Nothing. So do you know anything or not?"

Vio pulled out a chair and sat down. "Yes," he said simply, lacing his fingers together and setting them on the table.

"And . . . you're willing to help me?"

He gave another of his cold smiles. "Why not?"

"But you said . . . what are you getting out of this? I thought you didn't bother with things that didn't affect you."

"Who said this doesn't affect me?"

"Oh, so . . . it DOES affect you?"

"Didn't say that, either."

"Okay, wow, you are SUPER confusing."

"Right. So, your question was, is it possible for a shadow being from the Shadow Realm to move to this plane. Let's assume it is. In that case, you find yourself in a situation in which you need to know how their bodies work, specifically their hearts. Let's not ask why. Exactly WHAT do you need to know?"

"Well, you have to also assume that a shadow's heart is their moral compass and has little to do with their actual life. Like, somebody can . . . steal it. And use it on their own heart, to heal it from damages. How would you go about reversing that process without harming either the Hylian or the shadow being?"

Vio looked at Sheik calculatingly. "So we've got a Hylian using a shadow heart to fill in for his own and a shadow being without a heart. And you want to reverse that."

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Um . . . well one, it's not working. The Hylian's body is still failing."

"Well of course. Shadow beings' hearts are morally based, not physically based. Hypothetically."

"Okay, but anyway, since the shadow being's heart IS its moral compass, without it he's kind of . . ."

" **Kind oooooof . . .** "

"A menace to society."

Krad blew a raspberry. " **I'm gonna eat a flock of pigeons for THAT comment!** "

"Oh SHUT UP!"

Vio raised an eyebrow, and Sheik groaned.

"Sorry," said Sheik, slowly. "Sometimes my thoughts get . . . REALLY loud."

Vio nodded, but didn't seem convinced. "I see."

* * *

Shadow and Link were lying on the grass in the backyard. "Did Sheik seem weird to you?" Shadow asked. "He's been acting really weird, hasn't he?"

"Yeah," Link agreed. "He's been that way since Battle of the Bands."

"What do you think's wrong?"

"Well, his dad walked out of his performance. I'd guess that's pretty damaging."

"Do you think 'studying' was a code word for 'sulk' and 'cry on my own'?"

"Maybe. I'm sure he'll open up when he feels like it."

Shadow glanced sideways at Link with a look of disbelief. "You don't actually think that's a good plan, do you?"

". . . No."

"Good!" Shadow sat up and leapt to his feet. "Let's go get him!"

Link also stood. "We never should have left. Some friends we are."

They went inside. "Grandma!" Link called. "I know it's late, but Shadow and I are just gonna go check on Sheik! I'll text you if we sleep over, is that okay?"

Grandma peeked out of her office. She smiled. "That's fine, dear. I'm sure Sheik will love the company." She had noticed the scene Sheik's father made last night, too. "Have a good time, and remember there's school tomorrow, so don't stay up too late!"

Link smiled back. "Yes, Grandma!"

"WOW!" Shadow exclaimed. "She's letting us go?! My dad would NEVER let me do that!"

"Dude, it's eight. It's not like it's midnight."

"But STILL, by the time we actually GET there . . ."

Link stopped. "Right. You can't skateboard. Um . . ." Link went into the garage. Shadow followed. Link uncovered something from some boxes and old plastic coverings and bottles and whatnot that hadn't gotten recycled yet. He grabbed whatever he was looking for and rolled it away from the pile of stuff.

Shadow balked at him. "A wheelchair? You gotta be kidding."

"It was grandpa's, and nope! You're still recovering, and I can run."

Shadow sat down without much more complaint. "Oy, oy oy."

Link pushed the garage door button once to open, then again to close it, grabbed hold of the wheelchair and ran to get under the door before it closed. Shadow yelped.

"Oh I get it," said Shadow as they rushed down the sidewalk to the bus stop a couple blocks down. "You're going to almost get us killed, and I'm just going to sit and watch!"

Link sniggered.

* * *

Link and Shadow stared disbelievingly at the scene before them. Sheik was sitting in the library, surrounded by a range of book mountains.

"You . . . you actually ARE studying!" Shadow cried.

Sheik faked a grin. "Yep!"

"That's so weird," Link said, scratching his head. "I thought for sure you were . . . oh well." He grinned. "Glad to see you're okay."

"Yeah, I'm fine guys . . . thanks." _No I'm not. I'm not fine! My dad isn't speaking to me and this Krad guy, who MAY be a figment of my imagination, is threatening one of my best friends' life! Help me!_

"Do you wanna take a break?" Shadow asked brightly.

 _Yes!_ "No. I really gotta get this done."

"Can we help?"

"Not really," Sheik said reluctantly.

"Oh." Both Shadow and Link looked disappointed. Sheik couldn't help but feel a bit better despite himself. Only true friends would be disappointed that they couldn't help you study a subject they didn't need to know on a Sunday night. Link hated book studying, and Sheik wasn't convinced his brother didn't also have ADHD or something.

Shadow raised an eyebrow and frowned suspiciously. "Well . . . _okay . . ._ but you call me if anything changes, alright?"

"US. Call US," Link corrected.

Sheik made his best politically convincing smile. "I will. You guys are the best!"

Link turned and walked away. Shadow stayed an extra second or so, then finally pulled his wary eyes off Sheik and followed Link.

Sheik breathed a sigh of relief.

* * *

Shadow met Link behind a bookcase. "Did that look convincing to you?"

Link's face was determined. "Not EVEN."

"What is going ON?!" Shadow peeked through the bookcase at Sheik. Link did as well. "We gotta figure this out, man! Something doesn't feel right."

"Yeah."

"Do you think somebody's blackmailing him?"

"Dunno."

"Depression? Pushing everyone away?"

"I hope not. What's he reading?"

"Can't tell from here . . ."

"Why's he being so secretive?"

"He's gotta have a good reason . . . let's keep watching."

Soon Sheik was joined by another boy, a languid guy they both recognized from last night.

"Isn't he from that lookalike band?" Link asked.

"Yeah."

"Study partner?"

"Possibly. Do you think they're dating?"

"But why wouldn't Sheik tell us? And I thought he was kinda into that Groose guy . . ."

"Never mind. No way they're dating. Sheik looks creeped out by the guy."

"Study partner, then."

"Probably."

"So why doesn't he want us around?"

"He said he had to study hard?"

"Something like that."

"It doesn't feel right."

Link nodded in agreement.

Vio made a gesture with a hand as though explaining something to someone much stupider than he was. Shadow's hackles raised and he growled like a cat.

"What?" Link asked.

"I don't like him!"

"Huh?" Link had been focused on Sheik. He turned his attention to Vio. His ears perked up and his hair stood on end before falling back into place. "Me, either!"

"He's so . . . I can't quite put my finger on it . . ."

"It's like he's . . . almost . . . like a . . . yeah."

The two continued to watch, waiting for something to happen that might explain Sheik's sudden secretiveness.

* * *

AN: I knoooooooow, Krad and Wodash have got to be the biggest cop-outs in naming EVER . . . but I've already got a Shadow, and this new guy really doesn't seem like a Dark to me.


	26. Chapter 26

AN: I know it's late. Have a longer chapter for your trouble~ School started . . . I . . . will get to responses on Saturday, completely miscalculated how busy I'd be this week.

Aside from that, let's get ONE thing straight-THERE WILL BE NO LINKCEST IN THIS STORY! If you don't know what that is, I'm sorry to be the one to introduce it to you. The four "Links" are NOT the same person, THEY ARE NOT EVEN RELATED. In my headcanon they're not related and not the same person because THEN they don't have to merge altogether at the end! I might delve into them getting into relationships with each other, but even with them being unrelated that might be too weird considering all the . . . interesting fanfiction out there. For those of you who DO like that sort of thing . . . not going to find it here. That is one area I shall not explore. Ever.

Thanks to Kreignreign (I hope I spelled that right) for the review (glad you liked the last chapter so much! I liked it, too, one of my better, more organized ones. This one not so much, haha!)

Also, thank you guest, for the reviews!

Thanks to everyone for reading/faving/reviewing/just being here!

* * *

Chapter Le Teardrops

"Well . . . the library's closing soon, don't you have to get home?" Sheik was creeped out by Vio, but the guy was super exponentially helpful at deciphering ancient texts and thinking critically about a problem that was heretofore hypothetical. If he wasn't so desperate for help, Sheik would pepper Vio about why he was helping. Vio seemed to be getting absolutely nothing out of it, so what was his motive?

Vio shook his head. "No need to go home. You?"

Sheik smiled, bigger than the situation would normally warrant. "I'm the prince of Hyrule, I can stay here all night! . . ."

Vio's eyes flashed. "Could you . . . by any chance, extend that permission to someone else? Say, me?"

Sheik blinked. "If you like it so much here, why haven't I seen you here before?"

"I moved here recently."

He knew he shouldn't, but—but— "Wait, you said you're fifteen. How come you don't have to go home? What about curfew?"

Vio shrugged his shoulders. "In truth, I'm an emancipated minor. I have a card that lets me be out later than other teens. I even have a driver's license."

Sheik's jaw dropped to the floor. "No kidding?! But . . . emancipated minor. So you live on your own? No parents or grandparents or . . . adults at all?"

"Not exactly." Vio pulled out a violet smart phone and began scrolling through contacts. "I live with my band members, who are also emancipated minors. Before now we lived in Kakariko, but we moved here so Green can go to fencing school and because Blue got a job here. He basically supports all of us. He's the legal 'grownup,' so to speak, though sometimes I question that decision."

Sheik sat quietly as he processed all of this information. "So you do whatever you want?"

Vio nodded, then put the phone to his ear. "Hey Blue, Vio here." A loud, angry voice began yelling unintelligibly at Vio through the phone's speaker. "I know, I know, I forgot to tell you, but I can't come back yet, I'm on a date with the princess of Hyrule. I'll be back tomorrow—shut up! Okay, luv u bye!" He hung up.

Sheik flushed. "We are NOT on a date!" He sat bolt upright. "And I'm not a princess!"

"Don't worry, I always lie. He'll never believe me anyway."

"Yeah, but the MEDIA might."

". . . touche."

Sheik groaned. _Let's just get back to work._ "Okay, so where were we?"

* * *

Shadow and Link sat with their backs to the bookcase. Shadow flipped through a scientific book on animals that could transform, searching for pictures. He let out a tired sigh. "What time is it?"

Link opened his eyes and checked his phone. "1 A.M."

"Uuugh, are they every going to QUIT?"

"We could just go out there."

"No, Sheik didn't want us there, I wanna know why!"

"But we're already _here!_ "

"SHH! What he doesn't know won't hurt him!"

Link slapped a hand on his mouth. Somebody's footsteps were coming in their direction. Before either of them could even begin to get to their feet quietly and run away, Vio came around the corner.

Shadow and Link froze, Shadow half crouched and Link halfway through shoving him while getting to his own feet. Vio merely stared at them. Then his nose twitched, and one corner of his mouth went up slightly, for just a second.

From the table, Sheik called, "What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing," Vio replied, stepped over Shadow and Link's legs, pulled out a book, and went back around the corner and to the table as though he hadn't seen anything.

When he sat back down, Link and Shadow finally relaxed. "That guy is SERIOUSLY scary!" Link commented.

"Yeah," Shadow agreed.

* * *

"Hypothetically," Vio began as he sat down, "If I stick around you, will I end up in the papers like your friends?"

Sheik looked up. Vio seemed amused about something, but he couldn't figure out what. "Well, yes," he answered, seriously. "Does that bother you?"

"It's inevitable."

"Okay . . ." that wasn't an answer! "Seriously, why do you have that creepy grin?!"

The look was wiped off Vio's face like a power-washed wall. "You think I'm creepy?"

"Uh—I didn't mean that. Um—" What was he talking about? He DID mean that! "It's just . . . you come off as kind of . . . I dunno, strange."

Vio's eyebrow rose ever so slightly, his mouth pursed.

"Sorry." Sheik bowed his head, sort of abashed, but not really regretting anything. "I mean, you dodge questions, you don't react to things, and you act like . . . like you're above it all."

"Well I can't help _that_ ," Vio snapped, before opening the next book, putting his forehead on a hand and tapping the table with the other hand. "Whatever, let's just work this out."

"I didn't mean to offend you, Vio. I'm really sorry . . . I really appreciate your help."

"Hm."

A loud, exasperated growl emanated from one of the bookshelves, followed by another voice saying, "Link, what are you—?!"

None other than Link appeared from behind the bookcase. "Zelda, what are you DOING? It's the middle of the night, before a school night, and you're studying. With a guy! What's going on?"

"I told you!" Sheik replied defensively. "I have a project due . . . tomorrow!" He didn't sound as convincing as he wanted, and he huddled behind his book as though that would lend more credibility to his story.

"Well we're worried about you!" Link continued. "Your dad walked out on you! You can't tell me you're FINE!"

Feelings Sheik had been staving off all day threatened to return, but he shook his head fiercely and slammed him book down. "I'M FINE! What are YOU doing here? I'm trying to get this done and you're ANNOYING ME!"

"Stop lying."

"I'm not—I can't think about that right now! Don't you know I have to study! I HAVE TO! And Vio's been helping—Vio?!"

The strange youth was already several paces away, carrying a few books in his arms on his way to the exit. "Wait! Vio, come back!" Sheik's eyes caught a sticky note sticking to the books in front of Vio's books. On it was written a note:

 _555-0347_

 _call me tomorrow_

Still anxious that he'd pushed Vio away, Sheik was relieved to see that maybe Vio would give him another chance . . . if this wasn't a dummy number, that is . . .

"Link," said Sheik, his voice finally breaking. He put on his face. His Royal face. "I don't want to talk about it."

Link shrugged. "Okay . . . but won't you let us be with you at least? You're pushing us away, and I don't like it."

Sheik frowned. "But . . ."

"You can kick and scream and yell. I won't care. You can even yell at me. It won't hurt me. Just don't tell me to leave you like this. Please?"

He hadn't realized, but now he did. He HAD been pushing his friends away, and not just Link and Shadow. He'd closed up. He still didn't want company, but at the same time he did. He didn't know what he wanted. He had to THINK, but everything was so confusing. He couldn't just tell Link no . . . "What about Granny?"

"We said we might stay over." He glanced around the library. "Technically we didn't _lie_."

"I don't . . . I don't wanna bother you. Just . . . just go home."

Link's eyebrows curved downward. "No."

Shadow wanted to say, ' _we can't, it's past curfew,_ ' but the tension in the room told him he'd better sit this one out.

"I'm not leaving you alone," Link continued.

" _Why?_ Just, _Why?!_ " Sheik looked like he was going to protest more, but he kept choking up. He sat down, putting his arms on the table and hiding his face against them. "I just wanna be _alone_ ," he growled. "I _deserve_ to be _alone._ I reserve that right!"

Shadow hugged his knees to his chest. What was Link gonna do? What was HE gonna do?

Link strode the rest of the way to the table and leaned on it. "Why?! So you can sulk and feel bad all on your own? Why are you shutting me out, Zelda?!"

Sheik stood, putting his fists on the table. "You can't even remember my name is Sheik!"

Link was taken aback, and bit his lip. "I didn't mean to."

"Yeah, well I don't want to be around anybody who _doesn't mean_ to hurt me. I don't want to be hurt AT ALL!" He pushed the chair back and started away from the table, away from the others. Suddenly his whole body seized, and he ripped at his hair, and then shouted to his right, "SHUT UP!"

Link wondered in confusion who Sheik was talking to. Him? He hadn't said anything.

Sheik looked back at him, a slight blush on his cheeks. "I'm just . . . I can't explain what I'm going through right now to you guys, okay?" His eyes glassed over, and his chin trembled. "Just stay away from me!" He ran away as fast as he could.

"I will NOT!" Link shouted back and ran after him.

Shadow was left alone, since he couldn't run yet. He didn't know what to do, either. He pulled out his phone. His finger hovered over the contact titled, "Worst Dad of the Year." After a second of contemplation, he tapped the call button and put the phone to his ear.

"Hrm 'ello? Shadow?"

"Hi Dad! What's up? Can we chat?"

A long pause. "It's three in the morning." Another pause. "Where are you?"

"Oh! We're at Sheik's. Hanging out. Sleeping over."

"Okay. So why are you calling?"

Shadow slowly started walking in the direction his friends had gone, reluctantly. "Well . . . Link and Sheik are having a fight."

"Oh."

"Will you talk to me?"

There was another small pause, before Ganondorf responded with warmth, "Of course."

* * *

"Would you like more honey in your tea, Shadow?" Mrs. Harkinian asked.

Shadow, who sat at the Harkinian kitchen counter, shook his head politely. "No, thank you!"

Mrs. Harkinian nodded and began searching the kitchen, hunting for something. "Ah, here they are!" Mrs. Harkinian climbed down from the footstool holding a box of cookies. "I knew I had some of these stashed somewhere."

She placed them in front of Shadow, who examined them while sipping tea—then made a noise with his mouth full, and swallowed. "I love these! Thanks Mrs. Harkinian!"

"No problem, dear." The queen looked tired, and it was the first time Shadow had seen her without makeup or her hair done. Shadow thought she still looked elegant. Mrs. Harkinian was really nice. Shadow liked her a lot and wondered why they hadn't done more things with her.

"Heard anything from Link and Sheik?" Shadow asked. Link and Sheik had been up all night shouting at each other. Mrs. Harkinian had been woken up by it, and at the base of the stairs to Sheik's room she found Shadow, staring up the stairs despondently. Which is why the queen had invited him to tea. About an hour ago the shouting stopped, and Mrs. Harkinian found the two fast asleep in Sheik's bedroom, Sheik on his bed and Link sprawled on the floor in what looked like a very uncomfortable position.

Mrs. Harkinian sighed and shook her head. "Still fast asleep. I think they're going to miss school, but perhaps that's a good thing . . . What was the fight about, if I may ask?"

Shadow stared into his tea cup. He wasn't used to being honest. Not with adults. Was it okay to tell Mrs. Harkinian . . .?

"Is it a secret?" she asked.

Shadow shrugged.

Mrs. Harkinian put her chin on a fist. "Part of me wants to trust you. After all, my . . . Sheik told you about his secret long before he told me. However, I AM his mother, and as his mother I refuse to let you keep that secret."

Shadow smiled slightly. "You're as bad as Link." He sighed. "Anyway, Sheik wanted to be alone, but Link wouldn't let him because Sheik is super upset about . . ." He suddenly blushed. He was talking about something the queen's husband did!

"About Johannes walking out on his performance," Mrs. Harkinian guessed. Then she covered her face with her hands. When she removed them, her face was more collected. "Thank you for telling me, Shadow."

"You're welcome. Is Sheik going to be okay?"

Mrs. Harkinian smiled. "With friends like you and Link, I'm sure he'll be fine."

"What are you gonna do? Aren't you mad?"

"At my husband?"

"Yeah."

She smiled, a real smile. She patted him on the shoulder. "That's between me and Johannes. Don't you worry about it. Johannes loves Sheik, he's just . . . having a bit of a tantrum at the moment. It's hard for him. He didn't grow up with all of this knowledge about acceptance that you kids have. It'll take him a while, but I'm sure he'll come around. He's got to."

"That makes me feel better. I mean you GOTTA know, right?"

Her smile tightened, but she said nothing.

Shadow helped himself to some cookies, anxiety gone.

The kitchen door opened and a tall, skinny man with a greying black beard and a red coat came in, looking rather irritated.

"Oh!" Shadow exclaimed before his excitement deflated completely. "Mr. Harkinian. Hi."

Sheik's father looked at Shadow strangely. Sheik's mother interjected quickly, "Shadow and Link are staying over. Shadow couldn't sleep."

Shadow smirked. _True enough_. "Thanks for staying up with me, Mrs. Harkinian," Shadow said politely. "I really like talking to you!"

Mrs. Harkinian looked tickled pink. "It's no trouble, dear."

"How is Zelda?" Mr. Harkinian asked. Shadow cringed.

"Why don't you go see for yourself?" Mrs. Harkinian asked, making Mr. Harkinian bristle.

"I suppose you're making me sleep on the couch again?" he asked.

"Not in front of Shadow, dear."

"I will speak wherever I like under my own roof!"

"Nobody can keep a home when they're so upset they've lost all sense of decency." Mrs. Harkinian was remaining remarkably cool.

Shadow slowly edged off his seat, but Mrs. Harkinian stopped him. "It's alright, Shadow. You needn't leave."

"Oh, so YOU would also keep him here as we fight?" Mr. Harkinian challenged.

"No," his wife replied. "You will leave. Or you will behave. One or the other. I won't 'fight' with you. When you're ready for a discussion, you may come back."

Face turning bright red in anger, Mr. Harkinian nevertheless clenched his fists and stormed out of the kitchen, the door slamming behind him.

"So sorry you had to see that, Shadow," Mrs. Harkinian said, her smile back on her face instantly.

Shadow shrugged. "It's not your fault, Mrs. Harkinian." He grinned. "I wish my mom were alive so she could talk to MY dad that way!" His eyebrows crossed. "Are all fathers that way?"

Mrs. Harkinian frowned at the question. She poured Shadow another cup of tea and also one for herself. "No, not all of them are. And Johannes is normally much more mild. I've never seen him this angry for so long." She sat on the bar stool next to him and smiled sweetly. "Don't worry, Shadow, you're not destined to grow up into an angry, sour-faced old man."

Shadow grinned back, with some relief. He hadn't realized at first, but that was exactly what had been bugging him. He held his mug of tea close to him so the scent and heat could waft into his face. _This is what having a mom is like!_

"Tell me about your father," Mrs. Harkinian asked.

Shadow shrugged, a little shame-faced. "I dunno. He's kinda cool, I guess. But he's MEAN, you know?" Shadow fiddled with the elbow-length fingerless gloves he always wore, then folded his arms, hugging them to his body. "He treats animals like _dirt_. I'm fine with Link and Sheik and most people because at least they don't, you know . . . _torture_ animals and they don't know any better—no offense."

"None taken. Sheik's told me you're vegan."

Shadow nodded, filling up with quite a bit of excitement that somebody, an adult, was listening to him. "But that's what dad does. He tortures them." He suddenly stopped. "B-but you know, I think he's starting to get it. He . . . buys me all sorts of vegan snacks now! And he doesn't bug me so much about eating dairy or meat or other animal products."

Mrs. Harkinian had suddenly appeared very concerned, more concerned than Shadow thought was needed, and it had made him uncomfortable. _Maybe . . . maybe she's vegan, too!_

"It's sad that people can treat other living things so poorly," Mrs. Harkinian replied, sipping her tea. Then she changed the subject. "How do you like living with the Knights? Who would have thought you'd become best friends with your own twin brother without even realizing it?"

Shadow grinned, glad for the change of subject, even though he couldn't identify why. "I know! It's been great!" He tapped his foot against the backside of the counter, relaxing. "I get along with Aryll really well, and Granny's always got food ready. I'm happier than I've ever been in my entire life!"

"I'm glad." Mrs. Harkinian took one more sip of tea before setting her cup down. "Shadow, if you don't mind me asking, why do you wear those gloves?"

Shadow's hackles raised, higher this time. "Oh . . . you know . . . I like them."

"You're not covering anything up?"

"No!" Shadow shook his head violently. "I . . . I mean . . ." He stared into his mug, twiddling his thumbs. "It was an accident. A long, long _loooong_ time ago."

"What happened?"

Shadow tried to shrug nonchalantly. "Oh, I got burned when I stuck my arms into a fire."

"Why on earth did you do that?"

"It was when I was little."

She nodded, and he continued, "There was a lot of damage, and I go to the doctor regularly for, like, skin checks and . . . I have skin grafts, so . . . so they're really ugly and, and I don't like looking at them."

"Oh, Shadow," Mrs. Harkinian sighed sympathetically. She reached out and covered his hands with hers. "That sounds awful. I want you to wear whatever makes you feel comfortable, but you needn't be ashamed. Any time you feel like you want to take those gloves off—they're too hot, they're dirty—"

Shadow laughed. Only a mom would think of something like _that_.

"—or if you just want to take them off for a day . . . I'm here for you. Okay?"

"Thanks, Mrs. Harkinian," Shadow replied shyly. He was really starting to feel uncomfortable, so he said, "Um, do you think I could sleep downstairs? Until morning?"

Mrs. Harkinian nodded. "Of course. Let me just get you some blankets and a pillow." She winked at him as she stood from her seat. "Our couch is extra plush and fancy. The Tingle Salesman told me so."

Shadow laughed.

* * *

The sun was just beginning to rise as Vio walked past the dilapidated gate to his house. They hadn't gotten around to fixing everything up yet. They'd just moved in, after all. Like, a week ago. That hadn't stopped Red. A bright, hand painted "Welcome!" sign decorated with sentient, colorful foods hung just beneath their address number. Vio walked up the steps to his house and opened the door and went inside.

From the noises, everyone was already up, getting ready for work and school.

A loud, brash voice called from his right. "Vio?! If that's you, you are SO dead!"

"Hello, Blue," Vio replied calmly as a larger boy, roughly eighteen, stomped to out of the kitchen and to the entry way. He wore an apron and his hair was neatly styled.

"Where the h- have you been?!" Blue demanded, fists on his hips.

"I was out."

Blue slapped his forehead. "I know THAT. Where were you? I almost called Pat!" Pat was their social worker. "Seriously, Vio, what were you thinking staying out all night past curfew?"

 _How would I know you care if I didn't?_ "You stay out past curfew."

"Well, _duh_ , I've got a job—don't turn this into another argument, we've already had a ton of those! WHAT were you thinking?"

"VIO!" At least Red was still happy to see him. The shortie bounded from the kitchen and bowled into Vio, not even reaching his shoulder in height. "I missed you!" His eyes filled with tears. "I was worried about you! I mean not REALLY worried cuz you're strong and can take care of yourself, but I didn't know where you were and I missed you!"

"Thanks, Red."

Red bounced back. "Are you hungry? I made blueberry pancakes, your faaaavorite!"

"No, I'm not hungry. I'm just going to go to bed."

"What about school?"

"Not going."

Blue fumed, but he said, "I guess there's no way around it. Next time you want to go out all night, don't do it on a school night, please?"

"Yes, mother," Vio responded noncommittally as he climbed the stairs. Snoring came from Green and Blue's room. Vio peeked in to see Green's spiky blond mess of hair sticking out of the covers. _Still asleep, as usual_. He walked past the room and into his own. Purple walls on his side of the room, purple bed covers, purple bedposts, purple stuffed elephant with darker purple paisley patterns . . . he was kind of obsessed with the color purple. Eventually he'd convince Blue to let him make the carpet purple. And of course, his trusty purple, ancient desk he'd brought from the foster care center. It had so many dents and nicks that it was a wonder the drawers worked at all and the thing still stood somewhat level. It was due for a repaint, however. The desk's chair was a boring brown, as his purple one had broken several days ago. He'd made quite a fuss about it. He sat down and opened the thick book that sat on the desk. He shoved his face against its pages and breathed in deeply. He loved the smell of old books. Only after a few minutes of this did he finally raise his head to see which page he'd ended up on—literally. "Hm. Parasites." He closed the book and stood up, making his way to his bed. He crashed onto it, grabbing his purple elephant and staring into its emotionless, dead eyes. "You don't think I'm creepy, do you?"

The elephant didn't answer. Thank goodness.

" _It's just . . . you come off as kind of . . . I dunno, strange."_

Of course it bothered him. He didn't feel strange. Just because he wasn't like other people, just because he didn't . . . _get_ other people . . . that didn't make him creepy, did it? So he liked things most people found appalling. So he didn't cringe when people got hurt, or understand when people got angry at things he said. Different, okay. Serious, yes. _Strange?_ No. That word offended him.

He didn't want to be seen as _strange_.

Flipping onto his back, he sighed and stared at the lights on his ceiling that imitated stars-yes, they were purple, too, but lots of different kinds of purples. They shifted softly on and off, back and forth from bright to dim to nothing and back again. He thought about Sheik's friends in the library. He bit his bottom lip. He rolled over and grabbed his copy of the local tabloid paper. He flipped through to the full story, pictures included, of the cross-dressing princess and her dark-haired and light-haired friends and their wayward adventures. The dark-haired one, Shadow, still had remnants of purple at the ends of his long locks. Beautiful, luscious purple . . .

 _He's even hotter in person_ , Vio thought excitedly. _I_ have _to see him again! Maybe I can get his number from Sheik. Maybe I can switch schools-no, no, his school is too expensive. Where does he hang out? His address isn't in the school's registry! Darn rich people and their privacy . . . oh well. He's bound to be hanging around Sheik at some point, if I just wait patiently._ He screamed into his pillow. _Oh my goddess! I've never felt this way about anybody before!_

"Vio?"

Vio suddenly sat up, his face stone cold. Blue stood in the doorway, his bushy eyebrows trying very hard to stay separate as well as frown. Vio was always shocked at how . . . _square_ his head was.

"Are you okay? I thought you were going to sleep."

"Can't sleep yet," Vio replied.

Blue rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Soooo . . . fun date?"

Vio smiled evilly.


	27. Chapter 27

AN: Oh, was it Saturday yesterday? Ahahahaha! *uncomfortable laughter*

Kreinreign: I think you left me a review and it got deleted or something, but anyway I got an email that contained part of it. It was so long and detailed, thank you ;.; I didn't you you could tell the four Link's personalities from the game?! Regardless, I love the game and I own the manga. And I think you're right about the chapter's need for a main point. That's something I can definitely work on! I tried to make it easier to tell who's speaking in this chapter, too. There're still spots where it could use a lot more work, but for a more active chapter written in one week, I think it's an improvement xD

Guestie: AAAH! Yes, thank you for the feedback! I was thinking there weren't enough female characters, it's good to know my readers are catching up on that, too. Who's your favorite female Zelda character?

grlfn: OMG I UPDATE ALMOST EVERY SATURDAY THERE IS NO NEED FOR THREATS OMG xD

Thank you for the reviews, and reading/faving/following etc. :3

* * *

" **No! No, don't! He's my friend!"**

" **Enough of this! It's an ANIMAL! Not a HUMAN BEING! Learn the difference!"**

" **Daddy, daddy NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"**

Shadow woke in a sweat. He sat up quickly, heart racing—it hurt so badly it was hard to breathe! Not recognizing where he was, his heart raced even faster and he leapt off whatever he was laying on, taking blankets and sheets with him.

It was only when he untangled himself that he remembered he was at Sheik's. He calmed down and sat with his back against the couch. He brought his hands up to his face. The gloves were well worn and frayed at the ends, but he couldn't bring himself to take them off. His hands, his heart . . . _Why is it always me?_ He covered his face. _What a nightmare._ It was all because Mrs. Harkinian brought up the subject. He hadn't had a nightmare about it in months!

There came hurried footsteps, and a disheveled Mrs. Harkinian appeared at the doorway. "Shadow?! I heard you screaming, are you alright?"

Shadow looked up. _Was I screaming in my sleep?_ He couldn't muster a smile, so he just shrugged. "Just a nightmare."

Mrs. Harkinian looked concerned. "Oh. I'm sorry. Do you want to talk about it?"

Shadow let his silence answer. Talking took effort.

"Well, it's almost two o'clock in the afternoon, well past brunch. Would you like hot chocolate?"

A little luster returned to his face. "Yes, please?"

Mrs. Harkinian smiled. "I'll be right back!"

SSS

"Maaaaaaaaaaaan!" Shadow exclaimed, stretching his arms over his head as he and his friends strolled down the snow-covered lane. "We all played hooky today."

Sheik was busy burying his face in his hands. "I'm completely mortified! I've already missed a ton of school." His head bounced up. "What about my grades? What about Hylia Academy?! What about the Kaepora Gaebora scholarship?" He sobbed. "I'm doooomed . . ."

Link was snacking on a home baked roll and using even fewer words than normal. "Grmph." On his next bite, he accidentally caught a bit of his fingerless mitten, which he promptly spat out with all the treasured bread. "Rrrrrgh."

 _Splat!_ Shadow fell backwards, face stinging from the ice cold snowball that had just collided with his face.

Link laughed so hard he choked on the rest of his roll. Sheik slapped him hard on the back to dislodge it. Link watched the sad bread crumb fall to the ground despondently.

"WHO THREW THAT?" Shadow threw a fist in the air.

A silver-haired boy in tight red jeans and a purple poncho coat walked out from behind a bush. One red eye was clouded, the other clear. "Hey, Shay-shay!"

Shadow's jaw dropped, and he hurried to his feet and sprinted at the boy. "VAATI!"

The two collided and fell into a snowdrift.

"WHERE'VE YOU BEEN?!" Shadow yelled, unable to keep the franticness out of his voice. He felt Vaati laugh into his shoulder as they embraced.

"Gerroff!" Vaati snorted even more in laughter and pushed Shadow away. "Gosh, if I knew you'd miss me _this_ much, I never would have left!"

Shadow punched his arm. "Don't say that! Of course I missed you!"

"Aaww!"

"SHUT UP! You didn't call, you didn't reply to my emails or texts or messages or ANYTHING. You dropped off the face of the earth! I was seriously worried about you, V!" Shadow stood up and offered Vaati a hand.

Vaati took it and got up himself. "Well, I'm here now. How's your heart?"

"Terrible, thanks to you!" Shadow grabbed Vaati's arms. "Are you back? Are you back for good, Vaati? You keep appearing and disappearing . . ."

"Hey, Vaati!" Sheik exclaimed. "How's it going?"

Link followed behind. "Hrmph."

Vaati grinned. "No time for that now! Come on! There's a battle going on!" Vaati pulled away from Shadow's grip and ran off.

"A battle?" Shadow and Sheik repeated.

"Eeeeh?" Link wondered.

They ran after him across a street and into a large park. Several snow forts had been built in one area, and colorful winter clothes hid behind each of them. The people wearing the clothes were yelling insults at the others behind the other forts.

Sheik grinned. "Oh my gosh, it IS a battle!"

Groose appeared from behind the far fort, making some kind of meaningless battle cry that sounded like an irritated walrus. A small catapult behind him flashed and unleashed twenty snowballs, which fell intermittently around the entire area.

Link, having the best instincts of the three, dashed behind the nearest fort.

"Hi, Link!"

Link glanced at who else was behind the fort. "Skull Kid?!"

Skull kid, who was holding an umbrella to block Groose's attack, cackled. Behind him, the triplets from the skate park readied a pile of their own snowballs.

"Where's Saria?" Link asked. The other four glowered and glanced over to the fort with the Twili flag.

Link spotted a green head just barely peeking over the top of the fort. "SARIA!" He yelled, feeling utterly betrayed.

Saria shrugged. "What can I say? She offered me make up lessons!"

Nabooru popped up right then, waggling her fingers on either side of her head and blowing an impressive raspberry.

Link gasped. "How DARE you corrupt our perfect little Saria! CHILD ABDUCTOR!"

"As if a man would know what to do with a child!"

An orange head appeared then. "Ooooh, BURRRRRRN!" It was Midna. She waved a tiny green hand. "Hey! Sheik! Come join us!"

Sheik pointed at himself. "Me? But . . ."

"Honorary member of the female race! NOW MOVE YOUR BUTT! We gotta kick these boys' trash!"

Link fell over the top of his fort from his exuberance. "SHEIK! DON'T FALL FOR IT! THEY'RE FEMININE LIIIIIIES!"

Nabooru cupped a hand around her mouth and shouted, "YOU CAN BE THE GERUDO KIIIIIIIIING!"

All signs of indecision left Sheik immediately, and a devilish grin crossed his face.

"Sheik, noooooo!"

Sheik shrugged at Link. "What can I say? Sisters before misters!" and he ran across the park to join the other girls. The first thing he did when he got there was hug Nabooru. "I miss you!"

Nabooru looked a bit grumpy, but she replied, "I miss you, too. Friends for now?"

Sheik waggled his eyebrows. "Only if you call me Your Majesty."

Nabooru snortled and pushed Sheik's face into the snow. A green-haired girl giggled and brushed Sheik off when he sat up again. "What's your name?" Sheik asked.

"I'm Saria! I'm a Kokiri."

"No kidding?! That's so neat!"

Midna called from the top of the fort, "Gear up for phase two, minorities!"

"But what about me?" A tiny, adorable voice asked. "I'm not a minority!"

Sheik questioningly bent backward to see beyond Nabooru. A young man in a red tunic and big, innocent blue eyes was barely visible amid the arsenal of snowballs. "Why is HE here?" Sheik whispered to Nabooru, who blushed and replied, "Cuz he's adorable."

"Red," Midna replied, "you gotta represent all the orphans out there! Which means me, and also," she winked in a flirty way, "you're shorter than me. That makes you special."

Red absolutely beamed. "You're right!" Faster than Sheik thought was humanly possible, Red began making more snowballs.

 _Red? Didn't Vio say he knew a Red?_

On the other side of the field, Shadow was busy looking for where Vaati went. He walked through the warzone, avoiding every snowball expertly like someone who had played this game their entire life (he had). As he got to the final fort, he heard Vaati's voice and hurried as fast as his poor heart would let him.

Vaati was whining. "Come ooooon, come play with us!"

"No," someone answered.

"PLEEEEEEEASE?"

"NO."

"Vio, come on, PLEEEEEEEEASE with a book on top?!" Vaati was tugging on the coat arm of the boy who had been studying with Sheik just yesterday.

 _Vaati knows Vio? Wait, Vio knows Vaati? And he knows Sheik? . . . What is going on?_

Vio was extremely displeased. "I can't believe you pulled me away from my BOOK for this! There is no way I am going to participate in such a childish, useless, waste-of-time—" His gaze fell on Shadow. He gasped. Before Shadow could move, Vio had bounded over to him and grabbed his arm. "I'm on Shadow's team!" Vio exclaimed.

Shadow looked at him strangely. "Who _are_ you?"

Vio's cheeks were red from the cold. He grinned. "My name's Vio!"

Vaati grabbed them both and pulled them behind the final fort. "Hurry up, guys, we're losing!"

"Wait," Shadow said. "Who's with Groose?"

"Blue and Green—my friends," Vio explained.

"Oh. But don't you want to be on their team?"

"No, why would I?"

"Because they're your . . . never mind. Vio, be straight with me—"

Vaati collapsed onto the ground laughing, and Vio smirked.

"—are you any good at throwing snowballs?"

"He's a _god_ ," Vaati interjected, throwing an arm around Vio's shoulders. "That's why I wanted him on OUR team!"

Their conversation was cut short by a sudden flurry of snowballs from the Minority Regime. They huddled beneath their protective wall. Vio's face was deep in thought as he cuffed a snowball into his hands, and as soon as the flurry ended, he popped above the wall and threw a fast ball.

Shadow peeked over the edge in time to see the snowball hit Midna square in the face, knocking her off her fort. "OH MY GODDESSES THAT WAS AMAZING!" He dragged Vio back behind the wall before he was grazed by Link's shot. "I'll give you all my lunch money if you can smack Sheik right in the kisser!"

Vio's ears turned red, and he pulled his scarf over the bottom half of his face. "Done."

Suddenly there was another rain of snowballs, and they huddled again. Vaati grimaced in distaste. "We need to something about that catapult!"

"Yeah, how did he even build that thing?"

"He is ALWAYS prepared!" Vaati pulled away from the wall and dumped snow onto himself. The snow clung to his flannel coat and hat like popcorn to your tongue. He grinned. "I'll be back!" He crouched low to the ground and scurried into the white snow, camouflaged.

Shadow saluted Vaati as he left. When he turned back, he found Vio staring at him, a little too closely for comfort. Shadow leaned away. "Dude, what are you doing?"

"What do we do now, Shadow?"

"How do you know my name, anyway?"

"I know all about you . . ."

"Dude, that it SERIOUSLY creepy!"

A giant snowball exploded on their wall, taking part of it to the ground. Shadow and Vio looked over to find a laughing Link retreating back to his Skater's fort, laughing. "Oh no you DON'T!" Shadow yelled. "Get his butt, Vio!"

"Yes, master." Vio delivered. The snowball smacked Link so hard his legs were launched out from under him and he back planted.

Shadow crowed in victory.

Link got himself up, holding something in his hand. He gave Vio a most disgusted look. "HEY! DID YOU PUT THIS ROCK IN THERE?"

Shadow's jaw dropped, and he looked disbelievingly at Vio.

Vio's mouth curved slightly up. "Oops."

A chorus of disapproving noises rained upon Vio, who looked like he couldn't care less.

Shadow was trying really hard to look disapproving as well. I mean, Link was his _friend_ , and rocks in snowballs weren't _nice_ . . . but Vio was so self satisfied, like a puppy that had unrolled all of the toilet paper all over the house. Shadow threw his head back, laughter spilling out of him thunderously.

Vio pulled his scarf over his nose and mouth again.

"O-okay!" Shadow gasped through his laughter. He put a hand on Vio's shoulder. "N-no more rocks, but . . . we've got work to do!"

They each grabbed snowballs and popped up, throwing in synchronized fashion. Shadow threw one, Vio threw one, Shadow threw one, Vio threw one, reload!

With this rapid fire approach, they soon had toppled half of the Minorities fort. The Skater's fort was mostly toppled and the members were forced to abandon it due to the fact that not all of them would fit behind it anymore.

Only Link remained, stalwart and brave. "I'll get you, Shadow! I promise you! When you're sleeping!"

"Haha! I'd love to see you try, ya deep snoozer!"

"AAAAAUGH!" The cry made everyone pause. "INTRUDER!"

Melodious laughter filled the evening air as Vaati jumped from behind Groose's fort, toppling the wall and exposing his catapult. The other forts took this opportunity to take their revenge on the Groosenator, who could only watch helplessly as he and his catapult were soon buried in a mound of thrown snow.

"ABANDON SHIP! ABANDON SHIP!" A tall, buffer guy with blond hair ran away from Groose's fort. Another blond head showed up and shook a fist at him, saying, "COWARD! COME BACK HERE BLUE AND DIE LIKE A MAN!"

Vio grinned and threw a snowball at the yeller. "Catch, Green!"

Green turned just in time to get a snowball to the face. Vio threw his fists in the air, and Shadow cheered. Vaati climbed on top of what was left of Groose's fort and planted a stick with his purple scarf on the end of it into the mound. "I HEREBY CLAIM THIS PROPERTY FOR THE LORD OF WINDS!"

"WOO, LORD VAATI!" Shadow yelled.

"Hooray, Lord Vaati!" Vio yelled.

"Not so fast, ya skinny eggplant!" Sheik and his team appeared over their dilapidated fort and threw a powerful volley of snowballs at Vaati. The Lord of Winds barely had enough time to duck before the snowballs arced over his head.

"Quick, Vio! Rescue mission!" Shadow and Vio got into a furious snowball fight with the Minorities fort, trying to keep them distracted so Vaati could race back home.

He arrived with theatrical tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry, guys, I had to abandon the palace!"

Vio threw another snowball. "Who needs a palace?!"

Suddenly a pile of snow fell onto their heads from above. They dug themselves out and looked up to find Saria in the tree above them, having shaken the large branch she sat on so it would drop buckets of snow onto the guys down below. She giggled. Vaati, Vio, and Shadow readied their weapons, but Saria put her nose in the air.

"Nnnnnope! Can't throw when I'm in a tree. I might fall down and hurt myself."

Vaati and Shadow both froze, their snowballs falling to the ground.

Vio harumphed. "Then the snow will break your fall!" He pulled his arm back, ready to throw.

Shadow grabbed him before he could. "Hold on, dude, she's just a kid!"

Lowering his arm, Vio looked at Shadow with confusion.

Shadow grinned reassuringly. "Let's hit the core of the operation." He pointed at Midna. "The queen!"

Midna, Sheik, Nabooru, and Red glared happily at them from behind their fort.

"Red!" Vio yelled. "Betray your friends and come over here!"

Red gasped tearfully. "But that's so MEEEEEEEAN!" A snowball hit him right in the face, courtesy of Vaati. Vio gave him a high five.

The three huddled behind their fort again. "Okay," Shadow began, "Here's the plan . . ."

Sheik was having the time of his life. He couldn't remember having this much fun. He also had Nabooru back as a friend, maybe. He waited for Shadow's team's next flurry, then counted. Vio was very logical, and whether they knew it or not, the boys paused for the same amount of time between flurries to reload. Right before Sheik knew they'd be throwing, he rose up and threw first.

Shadow popped up in time for Sheik's snowball to hit him in the chest, causing him to lose grip on all of his snowballs.

"NOW!" Nabooru cried, and their entire team popped up and threw their remaining snowballs at Shadow and Vio, whose fort began to crumble to nothing. They screamed and tried to cover themselves from the onslaught of snowballs.

Midna drew her arm back, but right before throwing, spun on her heel and threw it behind her. It made contact with Vaati, who had been sneaking up to take care of the "queen."

"HA! Trying THAT with the Princess of Twilight!" Midna exclaimed.

"HE'S REALLY REALLY TICKLISH!" Red revealed. Vaati shrieked, but before he could run away, Midna, Sheik, Nabs, and Red descended upon him.

"NO! STOP! I SURRENDER! AHAHAHAH!"

Nabooru stood up and threw her fists in the air. "WE WIN! VICTORY FOR WOMEN! VICTORY FOR WOMEN!"

"AND SHORT PEOPLE!" Red shouted, standing up as well.

"I AGREE WITH THAT!" Midna followed suit.

"WE SURRENDER!" Shadow cried. "JUST GIVE US BACK LORD VAATI!"

Vaati sat up. "Lord Vaati admits defeat . . . can somebody help me up?"

Sheik offered him a hand. He'd never seen Vaati up this close. All he knew about the guy is that he'd been friends with Shadow forever. Vaati had delicate, angular features, and striking eyes.

The warriors in the field all broke into happy laughter as they regrouped and joked together about the battle and how close it was.

The sun began to set, and slowly people began going home.

Sheik smiled, feeling fulfilled.

"Hey, Zelda—" Nabooru walked up to him. She flushed scarlet. "I mean . . . Sheik, right? Midna and me are gonna get sushi. You wanna come?"

Sheik felt like crying. He opened his mouth to answer yes.

" **Aren't you forgetting something?** "

The joy was replaced by ice. Sheik tried to stay calm.

" **Tick tock, Princess . . .** "

"N-no," Sheik answered. "I mean, I would, I really really would, but I have . . . so much catching up to do, missing school and all."

Nabooru and Midna sagged with disappointment. "Oh," said Nabooru. She recovered quickly and winked at Sheik. "Well, you know where to find us if you need help."

"That would be a first," Midna noted. Normally _they_ went to _Sheik_ for help with homework.

"Or," Nabooru continued, "you know . . . a break."

Sheik smiled. "Thanks, Nabs. I . . . I'm glad we're friends again."

"Yeah, well I don't get this whole . . ." Nabs stopped herself. She smiled shyly. "Yeah. Me, too. Hang in there, girlfriend. I mean . . ." She punched his shoulder. "You know what I mean."

Sheik chuckled. He waved at the two as they walked off, and they waved back. The cold of nighttime was beginning to set in, but Sheik felt it was more than the cold he felt. He looked around. Shadow was busy with Vaati and Vio, and Link and Skull Kid were on their way to join the conversation. _Maybe . . . maybe if I get away quietly, they won't follow_. Sheik slowly backed away, then turned and walked in a direction nobody saw.

Well, almost nobody.

Vio bit his lip, unable to decide which he wanted more, to stay with Shadow, or follow Sheik. It was obvious Sheik didn't want his friends around the research he was doing, but that research was so _interesting_ , and he couldn't have both . . . after careful consideration, Vio left Shadow's side and disappeared as well.

* * *

It was just Shadow and Vaati now, standing across from one another. Link had gone in search of Sheik, but Shadow thought he remembered Nabs and Midna saying they were gonna ask him to get sushi, so he figured that's where he was. "I'm really glad I bumped into you today, V," said Shadow.

Vaati smiled, but it was a sad smile. Then the smile waned and he lowered his head.

"What's wrong?" Shadow asked.

"It's that . . ." Vaati looked up again. "I came to say goodbye."

"Goodbye?!" Shadow's eyes widened in alarm. "What do you mean?"

Pain crossed Vaati's face. "I _mean_ . . . I wanna go home."

"You mean to your school? Good, they said you stopped going weeks ago."

"I did stop. I don't mean there home. I mean . . ."

Shadow's stomach dropped. "You mean the land of the Minish?"

Vaati looked like he was swallowing a lump in his throat. "Y-yeah."

"But V, why?!" Shadow's heart, which had been so happy just moments ago, began to hurt anew. "This doesn't sound like just a visit."

"That's cuz it's not." Vaati's usual fiery self had somehow been completely extinguished, and he suddenly looked so very small, so very cold, and covered in snow he looked almost like he wasn't there at all. "I don't know if I'm coming back."

"Vaati . . . what happened? Please tell me . . ." Shadow held onto Vaati's shoulders gently.

"N-nobody . . . _gets_ me," Vaati began to shiver violently, and he hugged himself. "Nobody hugs, they're all so . . . so in it for themselves. And it's so blasted _cold_. Every year. I can't deal with it anymore!" A tear fell down his cheek. "I'm so unhappy here."

Shadow pulled him into a hug. "I hate that. I hate that you're unhappy. You're my best friend, Vaati. I'll miss you like freaking Christmas! I . . ." He hugged tighter. "Please don't go. Please hang out with me again. I'll ask Link and Granny if you can come live with us. There's not much room, but we'll work something out!"

Vaati didn't hug him back, but buried his face in Shadow's shoulder, sobbing.

"What happened to you?" Shadow asked again.

"I . . . want to go home."

It wasn't the answer Shadow wanted. "I'll let you go if you promise me one thing."

A sob-choked chuckle answered him. "Promises . . ." Vaati's voice was sorrowful, mocking. "Promises just hurt people. I don't want to be hurt. I don't want to hurt you."

A sick feeling filled Shadow's stomach. "Do it for me, V?"

". . . Okay."

"Promise you'll keep in touch? Don't shut me out again. I'm literally begging you. I swear I will hop on a plane and come FIND you if you don't. Got it?"

At first, Vaati didn't reply. Then he raised his head from Shadow's shoulder, and lightly returned the hug. He whispered in Shadow's ear, "I . . . promise." He pulled away. The look on his face made Shadow never want to let him go. He had the most horrific feeling, that this was goodbye, not just for a night, or for a little while.

It felt like a last goodbye.

A car pulled up to the curb and honked its horn. Upon closer inspection, Shadow saw it was a cab. He clutched Vaati's arms. "Vaati . . . where are you going?"

"That's my ride . . . I've already got a plane ticket. I have to go."

"You're leaving _now?!_ "

"I know, I'm a crappy friend—"

"Don't you dare say that! Don't you DARE say that, Vaati! You're my best friend in the whole world!"

Vaati broke off. Swallowed. Continued, "I love you, Shadow." The cab honked insistently. Vaati backed away. "I have to go. I can't afford another ticket if I miss this flight."

"CALL ME," Shadow reiterated fiercely. It took every bone in his body to not jump in the cab with Vaati. Then a thought crossed his mind. "I'll call my Dad! I'll go with you!"

"You don't have a passport or the correct vaccinations." Vaati was getting further away.

"I'll pay for it! I'll pay for the next ticket. I'll make Dad do it! Just come home with me!"

"Shadow!" Vaati's voice broke. He grabbed at his hair and doubled over. " _I can't do it anymore!_ "

That look, the utter anguish and despair. It frightened Shadow. He knew that whatever had happened to Vaati, it was really bad, and he couldn't make Vaati talk about it. Home was probably the only thing that could heal Vaati right now, though Shadow hated that thought with every passion of his being. "Call me when you get there so I know you got there safe? Doesn't matter what time it is."

Vaati stared at the snow blankly, before nodding numbly and turning away, finishing the walk to the cab. Shadow hurried after him. Vaati climbed into the cab. _No luggage?_ Shadow wondered. On second thought, Vaati's clothes looked a bit . . . ratty, and old. That was not Vaati's style. He hated old, worn out clothing.

 _Is Vaati broke? Was he . . . was he homeless?!_ He held the door. "Have you eaten anything?"

"No," Vaati answered. "Maybe on the plane . . ."

Shadow dug through his pockets and pulled out twenty rupees. "Here. Buy some tater tots on me or something. Those are my favorite plane food!"

Whatever composure Vaati had left fell away, and tears flowed down his face, which was filled with shame. Horrifying, guilty, unadultered shame. He took the money and suddenly slammed the car door shut.

Shadow didn't have time to react before the cab drove off with his friend inside. Vaati's tear-stained face was burned into his memory. He frantically fumbled for his phone and dialed. Vaati's phone was still disconnected. Shadow felt hot tears begin to fall down his own face, blurring his vision. He couldn't help himself. He began texting, knowing the text would never be received.

" _I love you, too, Vaati."_

* * *

"Helloooooo, Granny?"

"Shadow!" Granny came into the entryway just as Shadow shut the front door. Her expression fell the instant she saw him. "What's the matter? Your eyes are all puffy."

Shadow rubbed them. "Just tired. And _cold_."

"Well, come to the kitchen, I've got some hot soup for you!"

"Mmmm!" Nothing like soup to make you feel better! . . . As better as one could be, anyway.

While he was eating, Aryll walked up to him. "Link sad," she said.

Shadow nodded. "I'm okay, Aryll. How are you?"

Aryll puffed out her chest proudly. "Good! Good job, Aryll!" She climbed onto the seat next to Shadow. "Seagull?"

"You want me to make the seagull sound?"

Aryll nodded excitedly.

"Hyak! Hyak!"

She giggled. "Seagull!"

Despite himself, Shadow grinned. "Hyak! Hyak!"

Aryll giggled so hard she almost fell off her seat. "SEAGUUUULL!"

Thirty minutes of this later, Shadow and Aryll were laying on her bed, and Shadow was reading her a bedtime story. About seagulls.

"Why do you like seagulls, Aryll?" Shadow asked.

Aryll stared into his eyes, considering the question, trying to understand it. She poked the picture in the book. "Seagull."

"Yeah. Why does Aryll like seagulls?"

"Aryll like seagulls."

Shadow chuckled. "Yes. Aryll likes seagulls."

Aryll could tell she wasn't getting it. She thought harder. Then she said, "Seagulls fly!"

"Flying? Is that why you like seagulls? Seagulls fly?"

Aryll's gazed somewhere far away. "Yes," she replied.

Shadow smiled and hugged her, putting his head on hers. "I like that seagulls can fly, too. Right now, I wish I WAS a seagull." Then he wouldn't need a passport to fly across the ocean to be with Vaati.

Aryll waved her hands in the air, saying wistfully, "Seeeeeaguuuull . . ."


	28. Chapter 28

AN: A few hours early so I don't forget tomorrow!

Guestie: I'm going to try to make the female characters I already have more involved, and I'll see what I can do about Malon. I haven't made a plan for her at all yet! But I love her, so it's GOTTA happen. As for Lana, I haven't played HW! But maybe I can do some research because she seems pretty cool . . .

Kreinreign: I liked that line, too! You've picked up on a very important moral point in the story, mwehehe! Glad you liked the seagulls. I want more Shadow/Link/Aryll cuteness, not gonna lie. If I didn't love drama so much I would make an entire fanfiction about them being cute and stuff.

I got a TON of followers this last week! Thank you all so much! Don't be shy about telling me what you think and stuff. I love getting feedback! ^^ Of course I'm also just happy you're reading the story, so no pressure!

Thanks for the reviews/follows/favorites!

* * *

"OH MY GOSH!" Shadow yelled. Link came into the living room from the kitchen to see what was up. Shadow was on the family computer—Granny didn't allow computers in their bedrooms, so Shadow had left his at Ganondorf's and was stuck with the old desktop with slow internet.

"What's wrong?" Link asked.

"Do you have ANY idea how much it costs to call Minish Land?"

Link shook his head.

"100 rupees! . . . A MINUTE!"

"Can't you just use Hycam?"

"They don't have access to very good internet over there. His home's a tiny village in a third world country. I don't even have his address."

"Do they even HAVE addresses in third world countries?" Link wondered.

Shadow shrugged. "I dunno . . . I mean look." He pointed at the screen. There were screen shots of ramshackle houses in a woods, and next to a beach. The people in the pictures were dressed primarily in leaves, but there was some cloth as well. They had angled eyes and tan skin. They were all barefoot.

Link leaned closer. "That's where Vaati's from?"

"Yeah."

Link tried to picture the diva fashionista Vaati in tribal clothing, and failed. "It looks kinda nice," he commented.

Shadow nodded. "Looks warm, unlike HERE."

Link smirked. "Don't like the snow?"

"Not anymore! We got creamed yesterday . . ."

This made Link laugh. "Bad sport."

Shadow huffed.

* * *

Neither Link nor Sheik had admitted what they'd spoken about during their fight. The two seemed awkward together, but so far they weren't avoiding each other, so Shadow felt that was a good sign?

He put another item on his list of Things That Have Happened.

1\. heart attack : (

2\. Link is bro, bro is life 8D

3\. living with Link : D

4\. Vaati's gone : ((((

5\. Vio is weird : |

6\. Nightmares : (

7\. Sheik and Link fight : (

* * *

Somewhere else, Sheik was making his own list.

1\. dad hates me

2\. no he really hates me

3\. I suck

4\. I'm gonna get my heart sucked out in a week and ½

* * *

Link wasn't the type to make lists, but if he _did_. . .

1\. Grilled cheese? Too squishy . . .

2\. Hard boiled cucco eggs? No. Gross!

3\. Bacon? Bacooooon.

* * *

Aryll's list was very simple. She was merely copying what she thought Shadow was doing on the living room coffee table, to the best of her ability. What she was _trying_ to write was this:

1\. Seagull

1\. seagull

7\. seaGull

4\. SEAGULL

 **44\. SEAGULL**

 **4444\. SEAGULLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL**

What followed was a stunning crayon depiction of said seagullllllll.

* * *

Vio started making a list of things he wanted to check for his research project with Sheik.

1\. Do shadow beings breathe?

2\. Do they need air?

3\. What do they eat?

4\. What do they need to survive?

5\. What is a shadow being's blood made of?

6\. Shadow

7\. Shadow is really hot

8\. I wonder what Shadow eats . . .

It devolved pretty quickly after that.

* * *

Vaati was busy making poetry on his 22 hour flight to Minish land.

 _Roses sont rouges_

 _les violettes sont bleues_

 _Je me sens morte_

 _et tu me manques_

* * *

Midna scratched through all the points of her speech and tried to not write hate notes about that darn nut job of an adviser in training.

1\. I AM the blood Princess of Twilight, why should I have to defer to the decisions of the council just because they think they know better because I'm "too young"?

2\. ZANT IS ONLY A YEAR OLDER THAN ME, AND YET HE HAS THE VOICE OF THE COUNCIL BEHIND HIM.

3\. If I'm too young, SO IS ZANT.

4\. This guy is seriously pissing me off . . .

5\. Can they NOT see he is trying to usurp my power? He doesn't want democracy like he claims, HE WANTS TO BE KING! THE KING OF TWILIGHT!

6\. Oh CRAP I forgot calculus homework is due tomorrow.

7\. CRAP IT'S TOMORROW WHY AM I STILL AWAKE! ACK!

* * *

Another crumpled wad of paper hit her in the neck. Midna spun around and glared at Vio. " _What?_ " she hissed.

She hated presenting Twilight History at other high schools besides Hyrule Castle High. This place was the worst. People were so racist! But, it counted as extra credit, and that's how she was passing her classes, soooooo . . .

A round of giggles cycled through the students. Vio shrugged.

Midna sighed. "As I was saying, the Twili began to travel to Hyrulean territories only a few hundred years ago. However, much of the population was cut off when fifty years ago, the path between our worlds was destroyed. We can still travel back and forth, but it is very difficult, only one or two Twili or Hylians can move across worlds a year, and it takes much preparation. We don't know why or by who the gateway was destroyed—"

"That's a lie," Vio spoke up.

Midna tensed, her face trying very hard to break into a sharp-toothed snarl. She turned to Vio and responded, as sweetly as Twilight, "How so?"

"You DO know why," he said. "The Twili over here just don't like admitting it."

Knowing sneers from other students met Midna. _Keep calm. You can do this!_ "That's a misconception, Vio. We really DON'T know what happened . . ." she raised an eyebrow. "But if you have an idea on what happened, let's hear it. What have you heard happened?"

Vio stood from his seat excitedly. "The two worlds, Light and Twilight, were never meant to be connected in the way they were hundreds of years ago. It's like trying to mix oil and water—they hate each other. Somebody figured this out and realized both worlds were slowly destroying one another. That somebody sabotaged the gateway, destroying it and marooning thousands of Twili in the Light world."

Midna sighed. "That's one . . . _theory_. The other is that the Light Worlders were racist bastards who were afraid the Twili were going to take over their land and turn it into a land of Twilight, and _they_ were responsible for the destruction of the gateway."

"But what if it was a Twili who did it?"

"Excuse me?"

Vio grinned. "The Twili were the ones who ultimately had power over the gateway, right? How could a Hylian sneak past all the guards so easily without being noticed?"

"What's your point?"

"Isn't it possible that, considering the issues created by the two worlds connecting, that a Twili took it upon themself to destroy the gateway to both worlds?"

"Yes, but only _if_ your theory is correct, which is doubtful. After all, I'm still here, and Light doesn't affect me. How do you explain that?"

Vio shrugged, unconcerned.

Midna continued, "It's also possible some Light Worlder did it to save both worlds, as well. It's also possible that the Twili were the racist bastards who didn't want to be connected to Light Worlders and so destroyed the gateway out of racial hatred." She motioned to the rest of the class. "There's a lot of mystery, and really nothing to be gained by discussing things that have absolutely no proof. We really have no way of proving—"

"I've heard _another_ theory."

Midna crossed her arms. "And what's that?"

"That there was a power struggle in the Twilight Realm. That there really _was_ a plan to take over Hyrule."

Midna made sure her face was stone-cold. "And?"

"But it wasn't from the royalty."

That was new. Midna's facial facade broke just a bit. "What do you mean?"

"I mean there was an insurgency. A powerful group who wanted to overthrow the Twilight government as it was. This insurgency eventually got control of the gateway, and rather than let the insurgents migrate en masse to Hyrule and begin to attack, the Twilight Princess teamed up with a Hylian, sneaked in and destroyed the gateway on both sides."

A few students suddenly looked offended at Vio, as though it were preposterous that a _Twili Royal_ would care so much about Hyrule, as though it were preposterous that a Twili could be so noble.

Midna thought for sure there must be powerful lightning outside. Her skin pricked with static electricity. She had goosebumps. "How . . . how did you come about this theory?"

Vio was smiling, his hands steepled under his nose. "Just thoughts."

Midna was afraid to say anything. She couldn't disagree, because that would be agreeing with the racist students who were currently making noisy jabs at Vio, but she couldn't agree, either, because then she'd ALSO be the subject of their attacks—and they wouldn't be so nice to her. She shook her head, making a point to force a mock-disbelieving chuckle. "That's a wild theory, Vio."

"Isn't it possible?"

She froze, staring at her notes on the desk. "I don't know."

The school bell rang. Nobody moved. Midna steeled herself. "It is true that the Twilight Princess was officially exiled from the Twilight Realm a few short months after the gateway was destroyed. Maybe your theory had something to do with it."

The tension in the room was palpable.

"And maybe," Midna continued, "The Twilight Princess had no such noble ambitions, and merely destroyed the gate out of contempt for Light Worlders."

Some of the tension relaxed. Students nodded and began agreeing with one another. They could accept _that_ reality. Midna fought the urge to roll her eyes. "Now get out of here! Bell rang twenty seconds ago!"

* * *

Midna found it hard to stay alert while she walked away from Castle Town High. Vio's words kept ringing in her head. _Where did he come up with that? There's no way he got access to any Twili records, so what does he know and how?_

She pulled out her phone and called Sheik. She left a message. "Hey Sheik, what kind of Twili books you got at your castle? Anything legit or is it just What Le Hylians Believe About Le Twilis? Thanks, bye." Maybe Vio found some tomes that actually had real information. Maybe somebody stole books from the Twilight records. It's not like it would be hard.

Maybe Zant sold them.

Her stomach turned at the thought. She tried to tell herself that Zant wasn't _that_ dishonorable, but she couldn't entirely convince herself.

Fast footsteps approached from behind. Midna spun around, waving her bag ferociously. "GAAAAARRRR!"

Vio dodged the bag, then stepped forward. "Hi, Midna!"

Midna, slightly embarrassed, calmed down and said, "Oh, it's you. Don't DO that!"

"Can I walk with you?"

"Yeah, I guess. What do you want?"

"I'm just interested in Twili stuff, that's all."

They started walking again. "Okay, so is this an interview or what?" Midna asked. "And hey, you almost got me _killed_ in there! What are you doing saying noble things about Twili in a school full of racist people?"

"It was only the truth."

"You say that, but you don't actually know."

"No, but I'm pretty sure."

 _This guy's confidence_. "Just saying, watch your back for the next week or so. Some people might have beef with your viewpoint."

"I'll keep that in mind. So anyway, you said people can still move from the Light World to the Twilight Realm, right?"

"Right."

"Do you know how they do that?"

"It's a closely guarded secret kept by the Hylian Royal Family and a few select Twili."

"But don't you want to get back?"

"To the Twilight Realm? Some of us do, yeah."

"What about you?"

She shrugged. "Never been. No idea."

"There must be somebody who wants to fix the gateway, somebody who would know about the current path?"

"Why do you wanna know?"

He shrugged. "I just have some theories, is all."

"Do _you_ want to fix the gateway?"

He shrugged.

"Why?"

Again, he shrugged.

Midna stopped walking and put her hands on her hips. Vio stopped soon after and looked back at her. "Vio," said Midna, "WHY are you so interested in this?"

"Have you heard of the Shadow Realm?"

"Well _duh_. It's only the place parents everywhere use to give their kids nightmares at night."

Vio chuckled. "Yes. Do you think it's possible to travel there?"

"Yes."

This took Vio aback. "Really? Everybody else thinks it's impossible."

"I don't like the word 'impossible.'"

"I'm really glad to hear you say that. I want to find a way to get to the Shadow Realm. I want to study the Twilight gateway to get ideas. That's why."

Midna didn't wonder too much why he wanted to get to the Shadow Realm. Hylians were notorious explorers and couldn't leave well enough alone, even when it was bad for them. Still, she asked, "So, you just want to go to the Shadow Realm because . . ."

"I'm just doing a project with Sheik and got interested in the subject."

"Sheik?" _They must be doing a school project together or something like that_. "Well . . . I guess I could show you some Twili magic if you'd like. Dunno if it would help or not."

Vio beamed, a glint in his eye. "I'm sure it will help _marvelously_."

Midna squinted at him. "Who still uses that word?"

"Marvelous people."

"Hm . . . 'marvelous.'"

* * *

"Her _hair?_ " Sheik stammered. "Midna can use her magic to control her _hair_?"

"Yep," Vio replied. "Among other things. I guess Twili magic is ingrained in their very being in a way more deeply than Hylian magic in Hylians."

"Okay . . . so how does this help us?"

"We gotta return the Shadow guy to his realm eventually, right?"

Sheik hid his annoyance. "Yeah, but we gotta fix his heart, first!"

Vio chuckled, seeming to enjoy Sheik's discomfort. It drove Sheik nuts. "I learned something else, as well," Vio continued.

"What?"

"The Shadow Realm is inaccessible from the Twilight Realm."

Sheik threw his hands in the air. "Vio! How does this help at all?!"

Vio smirked. "Why are you so worried? It's not like it's life or death."

"It's GRADES."

"No it isn't. There's no way this is a school project."

"Fine, you got me. Now can we PLEASE get back to the problem at hand?"

"Sure thing, Princess."

* * *

The next weekend came, far too fast for Sheik, who had holed up in his bedroom with a dozen magic books.

" **I think this isn't working,"** Krad announced, laying on Sheik's bed and tossing a bouncing ball at the ceiling.

"You think?!" Sheik snapped back derisively. "If you'd just let me ask for _help—_ "

" **You and I both know that won't end well.** "

 _That's what YOU think!_ Sheik had secretly, under the guise of studying shadows, figured out how to send a secret message to his mother. Magically. He just wasn't sure if it would work . . . "I don't know why you're so against help. The more people we get on this the better chance you have of surviving."

Krad chuckled. " **You misunderstand, Princess. I don't CARE about surviving.** " He floated off the bed and rushed into Sheik's face, making the prince lean back. " **I JUST WANT MY HEART BACK!** "

 _I forgot_ , Sheik thought to himself, _I'm dealing with Mr. Illogical Whiny Brat!_ "I'll get it to you, don't worry."

" **I'm getting impatient**."

Sheik gut plumetted. He held up a finger. "You promised. You promised. Two weeks! It's only been one."

Krad folded his arms smugly. " **Maybe I don't care. Maybe I just want to rip people's hearts out now. Maybe I'm bored. Maybe I need a new experience.** "

 _He's trying to feel something, anything,_ Sheik realized. _It must be maddening, not having your own feelings. I mean, what's your motivation for doing things? It's not to help people, and it's not even to help himself—he barely even comprehends the fact that if he doesn't get his heart back healthy, he dies. He doesn't even feel bad for killing people. I don't even think he's trying to goad me or anything. He's literally just trying to bargain because he's bored._ Sheik stood up so he could be level with Krad, who was sitting languidly in the air. "Krad, I know there's a good person in there. That good person doesn't want to hurt people. I know it's tough, but you've gotta hang in there. You'll really regret it if you don't. I promised to help you, and I will. Okay?"

Krad's freckled face frowned in displeasure. " **O . . . Okay. But hurry up!** "

"You got it, boss," Sheik sighed to hide the growl in his throat. "Hey, here's an idea. Why don't you go bug somebody else?"

Krad flipped upside down. " **What?** "

"You said it yourself. You've been locked up for fourteen years. There are a LOT more interesting things in this world than . . . well, _my life_. Why don't you go check it out?"

" **And how, pray tell, would I keep an eye on you?** "

"You've gotta trust me by now. I haven't even TRIED anything."

Now he flipped sideways in the air. " **I guess that's true . . .** "

"Seriously. Why don't you go see what's on TV or something?"

" **TV?** "

"That magical box with magical images on it. Lots of violence on there. You'll love it." Sheik could tell he'd piqued Krad's interest.

" **Well . . . alright, but I'm keeping the door open!** "

Sheik sighed. He forced a smile. "You REEEEEEALLY don't have to."

Krad floated through the door, which he opened with his shadow magic. Sheik looked out at the hall and watched Krad travel downstairs to the family room. When he didn't return for several minutes, Sheik let out a cautious breath and returned to his desk. He began scribbling a note to his mother. It was messy, but he didn't have time to be careful. He hoped it was legible. He folded it and tiptoed to the door. He glanced around, hearing the TV downstairs. He looked the other direction of the hallway, toward his mother's bedroom. Fighting off the fear that coldly crept up his spine, Sheik slowly snuck out of his room. He heard Krad's raucous laughter and almost cried out, but apparently the shadow had just seen something amusing on the TV. Sheik sighed in relief. He made it to his mother's room and quickly shoved the note under the door. Then made his way back to his room.

He sat at his desk and covered his face with his hands, shaking all over like a leaf. _I did it . . . Oh Mom, please come home fast!_ His task completed, he continued studying, feeling both severely relieved and severely apprehensive.

* * *

Nabooru strolled into Denny's. Most people needed some place quiet to study, but not Nabooru. She grew up in a huge family of sisters, so she was used to studying with noise. Other distractions, however, like sisters with questions or problems or just bugging you because _sisterhood_ , were why she had to go to Denny's, a noisy place with free wifi. She met the greeter, who escorted her to a booth by a window. As she passed, she recognized Link sitting a few booths down. He had his head in his heads, looking very downtrodden. "Can I sit there? He's somebody I know," Nabooru asked. She walked over to Link. "Hey. What's wrong?"

Link peeked over his fingers. "Oh. Hi Nabs. What are you doing here?"

"Studying. You?"

He didn't answer, but he didn't tell her to leave, so she sat down.

Link suddenly said, "I broke up with Shad."

Nabooru blinked. "Oh . . . I'm sorry."

"Yeah, well, he canceled. _Again_. So I called him up and told him to . . . to . . . you know. That I wanted to break up. He didn't even sound like he cared that much, but I feel like utter _crap_."

Nabooru patted his arm. "Don't worry . . . men are REALLY good at making their mates feel worthless—I mean . . ."

Link looked at her weirdly. "You DO realize—"

"Yes." Nabooru flushed, removing her hand and placing it in her lap. "Yes, I do. Sorry. I've never helped a guy get deal with a breakup before."

"Have you ever broken up with anybody?"

She shrugged. "Not really, but my older sisters have." She rolled her eyes. "They keep dating Hylian men and then wonder why they end up single moms and alone." She shook her head. "I'm sorry! I'm not helping at all, am I?"

Link chuckled. "It's fine. Why do you hate Hylian men so much, anyway?"

Nabooru looked at him like he was an idiot. " _Because!_ They're lying, cheating, stealing , self-entitled spoiled brats who enslave women!"

Link put his chin on a fist, grinning. " _Really?_ "

"Well . . . that's what I was taught to believe. And that's what I've seen, too! None of my sisters seem able to keep a guy. They always leave, including . . ." She stopped herself, then looked at Link's friendly face and continued, "including my dad."

Link's eyes widened. "Oh. Wow. I never even thought about the fact that Gerudo kids get left by their dads all the time. _All the time_. I'm really sorry, Nabooru."

She crossed her arms, frowning at the freckles on them. "It's okay. It's not like I NEED a dad. I'm a Gerudo after all, it's just . . . Ugh! Anyway, we're talking about you, not me. SO. Who're you gonna date to get back at Shad?"

Link straightened. "What?"

"Who are you gonna date? I know this guy named Kafei. Says he's not gay, but I don't believe him—"

"What? Why would I want to date again right now?"

"Best way to get over a breakup! Find a rebound date. Nothing serious, just for fun. A fun date's _exactly_ what you need right now."

"Oh . . . okay."

"Now! As I was saying," she started counting off her fingers, "There's Kafei, and the other guy I think you'd like named Fado, but he's not a genius and considering you really like Shad that might be either the best or worst thing for you right now—"

"Why just guys?"

Nabooru paused. "I thought you were gay?"

"No no!" He smiled and stated proudly, "I'm bi."

Nabooru blinked slowly. "So . . . you like _both . . ._ at the _same time . . .?_ " Her face was full of confusion.

Link blanched. "Oh no! Definitely not. It's like, I like red heads." He giggled bashfully, thinking of Shad. "Obviously. But I also like blond hair. I don't need both to stay faithful to one person."

Nabooru nodded. "Okay. That makes sense." She smirked. "So you're not entirely hopeless."

"Huh?"

"Hahaha, nothing! Just teasing . . . in THAT case, there's . . ."

* * *

A familiar knock at her door. Sheik looked up hopefully. His mother stood in the doorway, a shopping bag in her hand. "Sheik, dear, I found the TV on downstairs."

 _She must not have found the note yet._ "Oh, I must have left it on . . . sorry."

"What are you studying?"

"Uh . . . the Shadow Realm?"

Mrs. Harkinian cocked an eyebrow. "Why on earth would you be studying that?"

He shrugged. "I dunno . . . just interested I guess." _PLEASE go to your room!_ He ended up having to chat with his mother for several minutes before she _finally_ went to her room. Sheik fought hard not to panic as he waited for something to happen. He had a sudden thought. _Where is Krad?_ If he wasn't watching TV anymore . . .

Something smacked him in the back of the head. He turned around and found a crumpled piece of paper on the floor. Krad stood leaning against the opposite wall, glaring at him. Sheik, stomach knotted, reached out a shaking hand and took the crumpled piece of paper. He unfolded it.

His note.

Krad pushed off the wall and leaned over Sheik. " **That was a BAD idea.** "

The blood left Sheik's face. He sprang from his chair and out of his room, not stopping until he reached his mother's room. He barged through the door.

"MOM!"

* * *

AN: I am sorry Sheik-sama! So so sorryyyyyyyyy!

I do NOT know French, so please don't kill me. Yes, in my world the Minish speak French. Why? Because it fits Vaati SO WELL!


	29. Chapter 29

AN: Thanks for reading/reviewing/favoriting/following!

* * *

Chapter afsdafdawerasdfgadf

The curtains wafted through the room, the moonlight mixing with the candlelight coming from the desk. A plate of food sat next to the candle, cheese and crackers. Mrs. Harkinian sat at the desk, mouth full, paused in the middle of chewing, staring at Sheik, who was panting in the doorway, having just barged through the door.

"Mom?" Sheik gasped. "Are you . . . you're . . . alright?"

Mrs. Harkinian nodded slightly, raising an eyebrow.

Walking into the room, Sheik felt a huge sense of relief. He ran and threw his arms around his mother, who confusedly hugged him back. "I'm so glad!"

And yet, he still felt uneasy. If Krad hadn't ripped out his mother's heart, then whose? How was he going to punish Sheik? He let go of his mother. "I gotta check something, be right back!" He ran out of the room and pulled out his phone, texting furiously.

Le me: TXT ME BACK NOW!

Within a few minutes, both Shadow and Link had texted him back. So they were fine. _Wait, Krad can probably text_. Sheik called them both. Link mumbled nonsense, but Sheik could tell it was him. Shadow was only a little bit more coherent. Sheik looked at the clock. It was only eleven! How were they asleep?!

After he hung up, he got ready to dial every one else he knew, but there was one person specifically he had to call immediately.

"Hello?" came the gruff voice of Mr. Harkinian. "Zelda? Are you there?"

Sheik bit his lip to hold back tears. ". . . Hi Daddy. Are you okay?"

"Yes, of course I'm . . . what's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm just . . . glad to hear your voice, that's all. I love you, Daddy."

". . . I love you too, peanut . . . what—?"

"Nothing! I gotta do homework."

". . . Alright. But tell me, how are you?"

Sheik whined. He couldn't hold it in. "I miss you, Daddy!"

There was silence on his dad's side, but he could still tell the senator was choking up. "I miss you, too, sweetheart."

Sheik hung up quickly. He was shaking. He and his father hadn't spoken like that in . . . well, a very long time. It was weird talking like Zelda again, but it was worth it to hear his dad be nice again.

He really did miss his dad . . .

SSS

It was half past one. Sheik sat on his bed, his skin crawling with pins and needles. He'd called everybody he knew. Likely they'd all be angry with him at school, but he didn't care.

Nobody was dead yet. Also, Krad hadn't shown up since earlier that evening, when he threw Sheik's crumpled note on his desk. It still sat there. Sheik uncrumpled it. _I'll burn it just to be safe_. He walked downstairs and threw it in the fireplace. He stood in front of the fireplace with his arms folded. Everyone he knew was fine, but he couldn't sleep. When would Krad finally strike? Maybe it was just a warning? But where was he?

He sat on the coffee table, staring into the flames, until the golden rays of sunshine shone through the living room window. He rubbed his face. Well, there was no point in trying to sleep now. Might as well stay awake the rest of the day . . .

Krad didn't show himself the entire day. Sheik was seriously getting really creeped out. And then another day passed, and another . . . no sign of Krad. No sign of anybody dying. Sheik thought maybe, _maybe_ , Ganondorf had somehow magically recaptured the shadow creature, and although that disgusted him, he also felt relief.

He mussed his hair up in front of the mirror. He wore a chest binder underneath his blue, collared, button-up shirt. He was quite happy with how he looked today. His hips were understated, his masculine makeup was flawless, and he felt like he almost, _almost_ , pulled off looking like a guy. He walked downstairs and met Link and Shadow at the door. They were going to watch a movie. Sheik hadn't wanted to, but his friends practically forced him to. They were convinced he wasn't doing well. They were right, and he wished he could tell them why, but he was glad they were there for him anyway.

Turns out the movie they were hoping to see, Ocarina of Time, was not playing at their favorite theater when the website said it was, so they ended up watching Tingle's Happy Rupee Land. Link just seemed uncomfortable and confused, but Shadow had the time of his life throwing popcorn and making cracks at the movie's leotard-wearing protagonist. "THIS IS THE BEST THING I'VE EVER SEEEEEEEEN!"

Sheik was distracted. That is, until _that_ happened. Sheik's face contorted into the most disgusted, horrified look imaginable. "HE DID NOT!"

"HE DID!" Shadow cackled. Link covered his mouth, looking like he might throw up.

SSS

Sheik suffered so much anxiety about Krad that he actually got sick. He still tried to study about shadows and hearts, but no luck with any of it, and the two week point was tomorrow. Worse, Vio wouldn't pick up his phone. It was like the guy had just suddenly decided he had what he wanted and didn't care to even say goodbye or nice working with you or . . . anything. Sheik was slightly miffed. The guy was scary, yeah, but he was also very smart. Sheik liked very smart people.

"Oh Zeeeeldaaaaaa!" The large form of Groose walked into her room, carrying a steaming bowl. "I brought you pumpkin soup!"

 _Oh no, I hate pumpkin soup!_ "Thank you," Sheik said, shakily pushing himself into a sitting position. He accepted the bowl. Well, at least the warmth was nice.

"You look _awful_ ," Groose commented.

Sheik tch'ed. "Thanks."

Groose scratched his head. "Well you _do_. You look like you've been stressed out for days."

"Well . . . I guess I have been." He stirred his soup slowly, pondering how to escape actually eating it.

"You know what you need?" Sheik looked up. Groose pulled a big, heavy book from his knapsack. He opened it, cleared his throat, and began to read, "Once upon a time . . ."

"You have GOT to be kidding . . ."

"Give it a chance! It'll take your mind off things, I promise."

Sheik sighed. "Okay." He laid back, soup forgotten on the nightstand, as Groose began to tell the tale of some princess trapped in a tower. His voice had a warm tone to it, and it sounded like he'd read this story many times before. Despite himself, Sheik listened quietly, Groose's voice finally breaking through the anxiety in his mind, shattering it into itsy bitsy pieces. Before he could finish closing his eyes, it lulled him to sleep.

SSS

Vio used the metal tongs to carry the flaming concoction over to the cauldron, where he poured it out. White smoke billowed out of the cauldron, and Vio returned the vial and the tongs to their resting place. When the smoke cleared, Vio removed his welder's mask. He took a large wooden dowel and approached the cauldron. He stuck the dowel in and began to stir the blackened ooze inside it, humming an ancient Kokiri melody.

A lonely man hides in the forest

thought he was a good tourist

The Wolfos cry and he wonders why

he wants to join the chorus

The moss traps him in the forest

The shadows eat up his skin

The skulltulas want his pretty eyeballs

Dekus cover up his putrid stench

A lonely stalfos in the forest

but where does his spirit lie?

The Stalfos cries, and he wonders why

he can't ever join the chorus

 _Kokiri really had a sick sense of humor when it came to adults_ , Vio thought to himself. He looked around the dimly lit dugout. It was actually their home's abandoned basement. The others didn't know about it. Vio had cleaned it out and turned it into his secret base, his place to do . . . experiments. He pulled a big lever that toppled the contents of the cauldron into a large, not-so-heavy bucket, which sat on a dolly. Vio rolled the bucket and dolly to the other side of the room. Against the wall there was a large glass terrarium—at least eight feet tall and ten wide. It was corroded with black sludge, dirt particles floating across the surface. At the base was a trough with bubbling black liquid. Vio dumped the bucket's oozy contents into the trough. "There we go." He put the bucket down and mopped his brow. "That'll hold you . . . for a very long time."

Black dust particles began to waver and spin on themselves behind the glass. Two glowing blue eyes appeared in the darkness. A figure was trying to form, but seemed somehow unable to.

Vio smiled. "You won't be able to do that, either." He put a finger on his chin, eyes sparkling. _Now I can really figure out . . . how you got here!_ He had been planning this since he'd seen the monster hovering around Sheik that first time in the library. It wasn't the topic, or Sheik, that got him to hel the prince. He simply wanted to know how on earth a shadow being made it to Hyrule. There was also the question of how the princess knew what she did. Could the creature talk after all? The back of his left hand suddenly began to itch. He scratched it vigorously. For some reason his birthmark was really irritating him lately. It was a weird birthmark of three triangles, one stacked on the others, and the bottom right one slightly bigger than the others.

The creature in the terrarium crafted a gaping maw, as if screeching. Vio took no notice. He walked back to the stairs and, without looking back, shut off the lights and left the basement.

SSS

Ganondorf was having a fit. _It's gone!_ _Blast it!_ He threw aside a table, the papers on top flying across the lab. He knew why, too. When Shadow and his friends had broken into his lab, they accidentally freed the thing, giving it the full range of his labs to explore. Ganondorf had managed to keep it contained, but when Shadow had his heart attack . . . he couldn't remember locking the lab door behind him.

Had he left the door open?! He was such a fool!

He forced himself to calm down. There was still enough Element in his stores to take care of Shadow for a few years. He would simply have to find a way to . . . break into the Shadow Realm a second time. Steal another shadow being. They were like hamsters, there were so many of them. Who cared if one or two disappeared into his lab? They wouldn't notice their missing numbers.

They weren't _people_ . . .

However, that thing was running around without its heart. He needed to catch it, and catch it fast.

SSS

Nabooru folded the last of the twin's clothes and put them in the baby dresser. She closed the drawer cautiously, not wanting to wake the napping twins. Mehini suddenly took in a shuddering breath, and Nabooru froze. When the toddler didn't waken, Nabooru sighed in relief silently, and stood. Her knees hurt from kneeling so long.

The doorbell rang.

She groaned.

Hadley woke up immediately and began screaming. Mehini soon followed. Nabooru covered her ears. "UUUUGH!" She grabbed a puppet from the changing desk and started singing a Gerudo lullaby. She caught the toddler's attention, and they calmed down. Mehini looked grumpy, but Hadley looked like she was up for good. Nabooru tossed some plushies into the crib. Then she tucked Mehini back into her blanket. She absentmindedly listened to her grandmothers speaking downstairs, and then heard something she did NOT hear so often in this house.

A deep voice.

Curiosity piqued, Nabooru decided Hadley looked happy enough and sneaked around the bedroom door. She tip-toed to the banister that looked over the living room downstairs. Her heart rose to her throat and began to pound.

 _Ganondorf Dragmire!_

She'd had a secret crush on the male Gerudo since she was little—how could she not? He was the one man, the ONE male in the entire world who might actually prove worthy to be the mate of a Gerudo sister. A descendant of the Gerudo kings . . . She put her elbows on the banister and her chin on her fists, sighing. That big, fit body, that amazing red hair, that distinctive nose only found in the Gerudo race . . .

But then that Shadow guy. Why did Ganondorf raise a _boy?_ No wait, that wasn't right . . . Link and Shadow were actually biological brothers, and they weren't related to Ganondorf. That's what Zelda—er, Sheik had said, right? But still, he married a Hylian! . . . why?

She couldn't help but think back to a few nights ago, running into Link at Denny's and helping him through a breakup. Link wasn't related to Ganondorf at all, but . . . Ganondorf sure walked and talked in a similar way. She mentally compared Link to the Gerudo king, Link's calm demeanor and quiet manner. Link was also rather tan, and he _did_ have great hair . . .

 _What am I doing?!_ She blushed. _I don't like BOYS! I mean . . . I don't like HYLIAN boys!_

Someone grabbed her around the shoulders. "BOO!"

Nabooru shrieked. She roughly shook off her sister's hands. "Aveil!"

"Hahaha!" The older gerudo ruffled her hair.

The people in the living room had gone silent. Nabooru felt her face burning to her ears as she turned to look back over the banister. Her grandmothers were staring up at her, and so was . . .

She covered her face and screeched, completely mortified that Ganondorf had seen her behave so childishly. Aveil's nasty laughter followed her as she slammed her bedroom door and threw herself on her bed. "Oh my goooooooooosh . . ." She grabbed her genie lamp shaped landline phone and dialed Midna. "MIDNA. YOU'LL NEVER BELIEVE WHAT JUST HAPPENED. I'M GOING TO DIIIIIIIIIIE!" She sat up stick straight and said, dreamily, "I MET THE KING OF EVIL!"

SSS

Midna listened to Nabooru drone on and on about Ganondorf. She honestly didn't see the appeal. So he was a guy . . . great . . . She looked up at the poster at the head of her bed of the top female radio champion of Hyrule, Malon Rancher, barrel racer. It was an action shot, Malon astride her beautiful Epona, her hair waving in the wind in a way that made even Midna's bright orange quaff feel lusterless.

"There IS one other way you can avoid this," came another voice, one she'd been tuning out for the last twenty minutes. The tall, lanky Twili would NOT leave her room! "-is marriage!" Xant continued, his strange mouth opening wide as though he were obviously a genius. "Then none of this political hogwash would matter!"

 _I can't believe he's talking about marriage_ , Midna thought idly as Nabooru's voice rattled through the earpiece, " _And then he looked UP and STARED at me and EEEEEEEEEEEEE I was so terrified!_ "

Meanwhile Vio was messaging her urgently on her computer. Urgently, meaning, he wouldn't shut up about this thing he had to show her. Or something.

Vio: hey guess what you should come here

Vio: you know what's cool?

Vio: my

Vio: BASEMENT

Vio: you would do well to come now

Vio: Midna

Vio: Midna

Vio: Midna

Vio: Midna

And so on. He'd been obsessed with her ever since that day she went to his school. _That kid knows too much about shadows for his own good. Gonna get shadow blasted one day._

"And THEN, we will have CHILDREN—!"

"SHUT UP XANT!"

" _What?_ "

"Listen Nabs, I gotta reject a marriage proposal and entertain a psycho. I gotta call you back."

" _Uh . . . okay. Good . . . luck?_ "

*click*

"YOU MUST LISTEN TO ME TWILIGHT PRINCESS!" Xant screeched at the top pitch of his lungs.

"GET OUT!" Midna shouted back.

"I WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS DISRESPECT!"

"TRY TO STAND THIS, CUPCAKE!" Midna's hair became animated and formed a fist, which flew forward and hit Xant square in the face and literally shoved the Twili boy out of her room. She then slammed the door with her hair. She took a deep breath. His slimy goon smell was everywhere. She sprayed a scented mist all over the place until the smell was covered up. "Bye bye bozo!"

There was no way she was going to avoid him if she left through the door. So she opened the window and lowered herself down by her hair.

SSS

". . . And Rapunzel and her pet lizard lived happily ever after in the Glossy Dessert. The end."

". . . What kind of ending is that?"

"A tasty one! Eat your soup."

"Shut up . . ."

SSS

Something collided with Vio's window—hard. He walked over and looked down to find Midna standing underneath it, her hair floating above her in a fist, with another rock ready to throw at his window. Vio didn't trust her not to be so mad she would break his window, so he waved and then hurried downstairs and out the front door.

Midna was taken aback by how gleefully excited Vio was. He grabbed her hand and pulled her into the house. Midna played along warily.

"You'll never BELIEVE what I found!" Vio pulled her through the house to an empty wall at the back of the house.

An angry voice called from the kitchen, "VIO! NO! NO GIRLS! ZIP!"

Vio pushed in a secret panel and the wall opened, revealing a staircase. "It's my sister Margaret, Blue!"

Midna followed him down the stairs. Once the door closed behind them, she said, "You're weird."

"You're Margaret."

"You're gonna _die_."

"This way!" Vio sprinted at the bottom of the staircase, smashing a light switch on his way. Midna came more slowly, taking in the cold, dank atmosphere of the basement. Algae covered the walls, which were basically just the light frame construction with dirt in between. It was like whoever had designed this basement gave up in the middle and didn't bother covering up the hole. It wasn't even a decent cold storage place. _Is this house even stable?_ Midna wondered. There were rickety tables set up, likely found in other people's garbage considering how different and beat up they were. A bunch of those chemistry sets you see on television, with the tubes and beakers and stuff, lay around the tables, some being held over tiny flames by metal stands. The place smelled pretty strongly of chemicals, but not in a bad way. It was the mold smell that made her eyes water. "You need to bleach the crap out of this place," she told Vio as she joined him across the room. He stood in front of a giant glass container, staring at it proudly.

Midna looked hard into the glass, but aside from some weird black dirt or whatever, nothing was inside. "So what is it?"

"You'll see." Vio reached over and turned a knob. "I'll make it show itself."

The black dirt began to coalesce before her eyes, and she couldn't believe her eyes as she found herself looking at what appeared to be a humanoid figure with blue eyes. Her jaw dropped. "Is that . . . a Shadow Being?!"

Vio smiled proudly. "Yep!"

"How did you . . . wait, _why_ did you capture one? Why is it locked up? Vio, what have you done?"

"What are you talking about? I didn't bring it here, it was already _here!_ This is why I needed your help, to capture it."

Midna balked. "Wha—wha—WHY?! Vio, you can't just kidnap someone!"

"What do you mean kidnap? I just trapped it."

Midna slumped. "Vio, it's a PERSON. It TALKS for goodness sake!"

Vio brightened. "It does?! I knew it!"

"Wait, can't you . . ." She considered. "No, I guess regular Light People with no magic means wouldn't be able to hear shadow speech. Vio, this isn't an animal. It isn't even a monster, it's . . . it's a _sentient being_. You can't keep it locked up! You have to release it. _Right now._ "

"That's not a good idea."

Midna made her hair into a fist again. "Here, let me help you." She ratcheted it back, preparing to smash the glass.

Vio jumped in front of her. "WAIT! THAT'S NOT A GOOD IDEA!"

"Start talking!" Midna demanded. "It needs to go back to the Shadow Realm or else who knows what'll happen!"

"It can't get back on its own!"

"What? Are you seriously telling me you're trying to help it?"

"Uh. . . yeah! Well it doesn't matter. It can't go home on its own, and besides, this is what's been bothering Sheik for the last two weeks!"

Midna relaxed a bit. "What do you mean it's been bothering Sheik?"

So Vio explained. He explained how when he first met Sheik, he was being 'haunted,' in a manner of sense, by a shadow being. Vio was able to see it, for some reason, but not able to hear it. He told Midna about the Shadow being's heart, and how Ganondorf had kept it captive, and how it got free. "According to Sheik, if Shadow doesn't return it's heart, it's gonna rip out the heart of everyone he knows."

Midna felt rather sheepish. She almost let THAT escape. "Oh. So . . . you captured it?"

"Yeah. I used some of those scrolls you showed me. I figured their ancient magicks would work with Light World materials if they were manipulated correctly. The thing didn't know I could see it, so it was easy to trap. It finally followed me to see what I was up to, I came into the basement and . . . voila!"

"But why can you see it? And why can you see it, but not hear it? That's . . . kinda silly."

Vio shrugged.

Midna's hair returned to its non-magic state, and she pondered. "So Ganondorf found a way to bridge this world and the Shadow Realm." She walked to stand beside Vio, squinting at him. "And you somehow figured out how to use Twili magic in the Light World." She glanced down discreetly. Vio was gazing into the glass prison, still with that pleased, creepy grin on his face. Midna looked at his left hand. He had a birthmark of the Triforce. _Well, that explains a lot. But . . ._ she raised her gaze to Vio's face. _HIM? HE inherited the Triforce of Courage?_

A sociopathic guy who captured a sentient being without even blinking about the moral consequences? This was . . . not good.


	30. Chapter 30

AN: GO BACK A CHAPTER! I updated it on Tuesday, so if you haven't checked since last Saturday, might want to double check.

And yes, I am aware I misspelled Zant's name . . . fan fail . . . ha, not really!

Thank you for favoriting/following/reading/reviewing

* * *

Chapter 30!

Sheik stared through his sheets at the ceiling. He was hot under his blankets, but the air outside his covers was far too cold. He was sweating all over, which meant his fever had finally broken. Even though it was silly, he still felt rather safe under the blankets. What was it about hiding under your blanket that made you feel safe?

The two weeks point passed . . . and there was no sign of Krad. Sheik was beginning to relax. He had no CLUE why Krad had suddenly disappeared, but he was certainly happy about it. The only problem was he was beginning to doubt his own sanity. Had he imagined the entire thing? Krad freezing time, threatening his friends . . . or . . . Sheik pulled the sheets off, revealing his flushed, sticky face. He pushed a hand through his hair and cringed at how tangly and rough it felt. He put out his right hand, palm outward, staring at the back. Ever since the concert, a mark had slowly begun appearing on the back of his right hand. He knew what the symbol was already. The Triforce, three triangles, one larger than the others. The large triangle represented wisdom, the piece of the Triforce Sheik now knew he held.

This whole thing with Krad. Had it been insanity, or had it been . . . a vision? He knew princesses of the past had visions. He sighed in relief. Maybe he wasn't going nuts! But what did the vision mean? What did it mean that he was interacting with this Krad person in a vision FOR DAYS? He rolled over onto his belly, giving his sweaty back a chance to breathe and dry a little bit.

Maybe the vision meant nothing more than to tell him about Ganondorf's horrible experiments. Sheik clenched his fists around his pillowcase. Although he was afraid of Krad and didn't exactly like the being, he was still furious with Ganondorf for experimenting on a sentient being. _What kind of monster would do that?! I thought he only hurt animals, because he thought they were dumb, but a shadow being?! What other horrifying secrets is Dragmire hiding?_

And what did it mean for Shadow? If Ganondorf was capable of . . . no. Ganondorf cared about Shadow. He would never hurt Shadow, would he?

* * *

"I'm kind of thinking about moving back in with Dad," Shadow commented while sitting at the kitchen bar.

Link sipped on his milkshake through a straw. "You miss him," he guessed. Shadow nodded.

"I guess it's just that . . . I didn't realize how much he was a part of my life, you know? I thought he was always too busy for me, but there were lots of little things he did, like try to make me eat and try to make me hurt animals and stuff, but it was all because he cared about me and . . . I miss that."

Link nodded understandingly. "I miss my Dad SO much. I wish I could hear what he has to say about my job, and my grades, and . . . you know, about me being bi. Maybe he'd have some advice, you know? Like even if he hated that I'm bi . . . I'd still wanna hear what he thought and why, you know?"

Again, Shadow nodded.

"So anyway," Link continued, "If you wanna go back and live with your Dad . . . it's okay with me. I'll miss you like heck, though."

"Pfft! It's not like I'm moving to another town." Shadow punched his arm.

Link chuckled. "No, but it's the little things. Don't know how I'm going to survive without you snoring and talking in your sleep."

"Shaddup!"

* * *

Sheik walked through the cold with his hands in his pockets. He was growing ever more confident that Krad was just a bad dream, a vision he was meant to interpret, not a dangerous person out for his blood. He walked up the drive to Link's house and went through the front door. He said hello to Aryll in the living room, and found Link and Shadow in the kitchen. "What's up, guys?"

"Hey!" Shadow grinned brightly. "You're feeling better!"

Sheik nodded. "Finally. I feel like I've been awake for two whole weeks!" They would never understand. He blinked. Maybe they would! "I . . . think I figured it out, though. I wanna talk about it, but first . . . how are you guys?"

"I'm good!" Shadow answered.

"Shadow's thinking about moving back in with his Dad," Link commented before finishing off his milkshake. When he set his glass down, he found Sheik had gone completely pale. "Whoa, you okay?"

"Don't go home," Sheik said.

Shadow and Link glanced at each other, and Shadow asked, "Why?"

"Just trust me—ugh." A sudden headache stabbed somewhere behind his eyes. "Oh, maybe I'm not as good as I thought . . ."

Link got up and escorted Sheik to one of the bar stools. "Are you gonna tell us what's been going on finally?"

"I'm sorry, guys . . . Link, give me your hand."

Confused, Link complied with his left hand. Sheik stared at the back of it for quite a while. "Um . . ." Link commented. "As much as I love holding your _hand_ , Sheik—"

"Huh. Give me your other one."

"What? O . . . kay." Link's mouth was twitching, and he couldn't suppress a giggle.

Sheik looked up. "What?"

"Nothing, it's just . . . weird."

Sending a glance to the sky, Sheik let go of his hand and folded his arms, sulking in his seat. "That's weird . . ."

"What?" Shadow and Link asked in unison.

Sheik put out his right hand, showing them the faint image of the Triforce on the back of it.

"Whazzat?" Shadow asked.

"Mark of the Triforce."

Link's eyebrows rose. "That's a thing?!"

"Yup. Didn't you know that?"

Dumbfounded, Link could only reply, "Outset doesn't really promote Hylian mythology much."

"Well, lesson one—not a myth. Just . . . guarded by the Royal Family, so . . . keep it quiet, 'kay?"

The other boys nodded.

"But I'm confused, I thought for sure, since I have the Triforce of Wisdom, that Link would have the Triforce of Courage! Didn't you say you have knight's blood in your ancestry?"

Link nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, on my mom's side there was . . ." his speech slowed, ". . . only . . . I'm not actually related to my mom, so . . . I have no idea if I have the blood of knights or not." He looked suddenly crestfallen. Shadow patted his arm sympathetically. "But what does that mean?"

"Well," Sheik explained, "If you HAD knight blood in you, then the mark would have appeared on your hand, or else you would have been born with it."

"So I'm most definitely not a knight's descendant?"

Sheik chuckled. "You could still be, you're just not the carrier of the Triforce of Courage . . . which doesn't mean you're not the hero." The two boys stared blankly at him. "Oh COME ON! You guys HAVE to know the Legend of the Triforce? My family stopped keeping THAT a secret ages ago!" Link and Shadow shook their heads, and Sheik sighed. "Okay . . . I'll start from the beginning."

"Long loooooong ago, the Triforce split into three pieces. One went to the King of Evil, one to the Princess of Destiny, and one to the Hero of Time. Capiche? Yeah. Since then, the Triforce pieces of Wisdom and Power have been passed down throughout the generations. The Triforce marks don't appear unless they're either activated or the Hero appears. It's impossible to predict who in any of the bloodlines will actually receive the Triforce until it happens. They may hold it and not know it their entire life if the Hero doesn't appear. The Hero's mark, The Triforce of Courage, is always a birthmark, and it only appears when Hyrule is in danger. When that happens," Sheik pointed at the back of his hand, "THIS happens."

Link was speechless.

"Wow," Shadow remarked. "So . . . Hyrule's in danger, and you're the Princess of Destiny?" Sheik glared at him. He smirked. "Sorry. Prince." Sheik stuck his tongue out at him.

"That's right. I'm the Prince of Destiny, apparently . . ." His eyes slowly glanced down to Shadow's fingerless gloves. "Wait . . . We don't know if your dad Ravio had knight's blood, right?" Link nodded. Shadow sidled away. Sheik strode over to him and took one of his gloves. "Shadow, we gotta see if you've got the mark instead! Could you take off your gloves?"

Shadow ripped his hand away from Sheik. "Nope. I would have noticed. No mark."

"But . . . just to be sure, you may not have noticed—"

"No."

"Come on, don't be difficult." She grabbed his hand again and tugged.

"I said NO!" Shadow tugged away, but Sheik had a firm grip.

"Why?! Why don't you want to take your gloves off, they're just gloves!"

Link, seeing the slightly panicked look on Shadow's face, held a hand out and said cautiously, "Sheik . . ."

"TAKE IT OFF, SHADOW!"

"F- THE HELL OFF!" Shadow finally threw Sheik off and hunched his shoulders, folding his arms close to his chest. He backed out of the kitchen before turning and dashing outside.

Link ran after him. "Shadow!" He found his brother on his knees in the front yard, clutching his chest and struggling to breathe. Link skidded through the snow on his knees and held Shadow up. "You're not supposed to run . . . you're heart."

"SHUT UP!" Shadow struggled and threw Link off him, forcing himself to his feet. "I can do it," he squeaked out. "I can do ANYTHING! Okay? Whatever the hell I want!"

"Okay." Link tried to stay calm. "Just come back inside. I'll make sure Sheik doesn't try to take your gloves off again."

At first Link thought Shadow was still catching his breath, but then he heard, "It's not fair," in a choking voice. Link walked up to Shadow, but let him have his space. "Why'd I have to have a heart attack?" He stared down into his shaking, black-gloved hands. "Why do these things happen to me?"

Link waited to see if Shadow would say anything else, and when he didn't, just put his arm around him and directed him back toward the house. Shadow let him.

Sheik stood in the front doorway, looking more than a bit shamefaced. "I'm sorry, Shadow." Link and Shadow climbed the steps. "I . . ." Sheik continued. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

Shadow avoided looking at Sheik, staring off blankly instead. Link gave Sheik a reassuring look, and led Shadow inside. Sheik excused himself to the living room and watched cartoons with Aryll. Link Made Shadow a vegan milkshake, the only vegan thing he knew how to make. "You don't have to talk about it," Link stated clearly, placing the milkshake in front of Shaadow. Shadow grasped the glass briefly, his eyebrows knitted, then he stood and walked to the kitchen door. Link didn't stop him.

Like a lot of old houses, the doorway to the kitchen actually had one of those sliding doors inside the wall. Shadow grabbed the tiny latch and pulled the door closed, and locked it. Then he just stood there. Link sat still, waiting.

Shadow finally turned around. "It happened when I was nine . . ." He pulled on the gloves, which were firmly in place since they were used to being there for pretty much everything except maybe showers, Link guessed. Shadow didn't sit, but he walked closer to Link as he peeled first one then the other glove off of his hands and arms.

Link was cautious not to say anything, keeping an emotionless expression. The skin of Shadow's arms and hands was mottled and scarred, in a horrific fashion. There were patches where skin had been grafted on. Link remained silent, but even if he'd known what to say, he couldn't speak past the lump in his throat.

"I still have to go to the doctor sometimes," Shadow said. "So he can check on stuff."

"What . . ." Link began, and cleared his throat because it was hoarse. And also he wondered if he should really ask. "What happened?" He was about to add that Shadow didn't have to, but Shadow replied,

"I had a pet. He'd escaped from Dad's lab." Shadow stared out the window, and wasted no time putting his gloves back on. "Dad was going to take him back, but I threw a fit. That's how I first learned Dad did experiments on animals." He paused, strong emotions fleeting across his face in succession. He suddenly smiled. "He was a young boar, really small, had the cutest tail! I named him Rufus. Dad let me have him, but then he . . . he started . . . Rufus started showing, like . . . powers." He eyebrows angled in worry. "Stuff . . . my dad didn't want me to see. Rufus would sometimes turn into a . . . a black blob and just kind of move around the room. It happened first when Dad locked me in my room and didn't let Rufus inside. Rufus just kinda . . . blobbed and came under my door." He smirked, chuckling awkwardly. "It was a bit weird, honestly! But then . . . once Dad found out, he said I had to get rid of him. He tried to tell me boars weren't pets, they were animals, and he wouldn't explain what was happening to Rufus. He started telling me Rufus was dangerous and would hurt me—I didn't believe him, obviously. I refused to let Rufus out of my sight, and Dad finally lost it and tried to take him from me. I told Rufus to hide, and he did, in the pantry. There's a furnace in the pantry, and me and Rufus would spend nights hanging out together roasting marshmallows. We kept it all secret, but I was only nine and not careful enough, and soon Dad figured it out." Shadow pushed his hair back behind his ears. "He was mad. Really, really mad! I yelled that I loved Rufus and didn't want him to go away. Dad screamed back at me about how Rufus was just an animal and I shouldn't care about it, and . . . and he . . . he threw . . ." Shadow gulped several times. Link could see him reliving the moment in his mind as he continued, "He threw Rufus into the furnace."

Link's jaw dropped, eyes widening. "He just . . . Rufus was still alive?!"

Shadow covered his face with his newly-gloved hands, saying shakily, "Yes. And he was screaming, and I . . I didn't even think about it. I put my hands into the furnace to try to save him."

"Holy shit."

"It hurt . . . so bad. But Rufus just . . . Dad pulled me away from the furnace." Shadow's voice broke. "I screamed, Dad screamed, Rufus . . . can't . . . I can't get the screaming out of my head. And then, he took me to the hospital, and Link . . . Link it was horrible. When I wasn't passed out, I was crying in pain."

Link didn't know what to do. Should he hug Shadow? Say 'I'm sorry?' What he ended up saying was, "You . . . you sure you wanna go back there? And live with him?"

Shadow shrugged uncertainly. "It . . . was a long time ago."

Link noticed his mouth was still open in shock. He closed it and gave his head a good shake. The thought of Shadow going through so much pain and horror was unthinkable to Link. He couldn't decide if it was an accident and he was just angry about the situation, or if he literally, legitimately hated Ganondorf. He threw his arms around Shadow's neck and held him close. "I'm so sorry, Shadow." He still didn't know what else to say.

Shadow returned the embrace.

"I'm glad you trust me enough to tell me," Link said, smiling slightly and hugging a little tighter.

Shadow made a self deprecating noise. "Can you not tell Sheik? I'm still kinda mad at him."

"Sure. Of course. So . . . is that why you stopped eating meat?" He felt Shadow nod.

"Yeah, and the smell of burning ANYTHING makes me throw up," Shadow admitted.

Link smirked. "So no barbecues this summer."

Shadow nodded quite emphatically as they released each other and said, "I really, really, REALLY hate fire!"

* * *

Aryll was staring at the wall, but it was not the wall she was seeing. The TV blared on behind her, and Sheik was asleep on the couch, but she took no notice. She held her arms out to either side, and she tilted this way and that, pretending she had wings and was gliding through a beautiful sky only she could see. She flapped her arms gracefully, dancing to the music in her head. She spun in a circle. She found Shadow watching her from the hallway, then continued dancing and flying in her imagination. Shadow watched her wistfully, wondering what it felt like to feel so peaceful. Aryll turned a second time. This time she grinned and flew over to him, taking his hands and pulling them up. She swayed back and forth, and showed him how to fly. She tossed his arms up, and he held them there.

"Fly!" she said.

Slowly, Shadow spread his arms, grinning at the silliness. He began to mirror Aryll's movements, and she smiled up at him adoringly. "We flying!" she said.

Shadow nodded.

"Look, Link! Look beautiful sky!" She gestured above them, in wonderment. Shadow did so, imagining what Aryll could be seeing.

Aryll began spinning in circles, looking for all the world like the happiest child on earth.

Shadow couldn't follow her. Instead his arms fell down, and he covered his face. "I can't fly, Aryll," he sobbed quietly.

Aryll stopped spinning and blinked at him. She tilted her head.

"My wings are burned," Shadow explained, knowing she wouldn't understand a word.

She began to frown, and then suddenly bounced forward and threw her arms around his waist, smiling up at him again.

 _You . . . you don't care, do you?_ Shadow thought, beginning to smile back. _You don't care that I'm broken. You just want me to be your brother_. He put him arms around Aryll and sniffed. Then he reached down and lifted her into the air. "YOU'RE FLYING, ARYLL!"

Aryll giggled madly as Shadow spun her in circles.

Sheik awoke on the couch, saw what was happening, and couldn't help but smile.

Shadow let go of Aryll and caught her in a hug. "You're the BEST little sister."

Aryll giggled again. "Hehe, L—sh . . Sha . . ." Shadow stared at her in surprise. She couldn't seem to finish, but she grinned, threw her arms around his neck again, and shouted, "SHAAAAAAAAAA!"

Shadow cried out. "LINK! LINK SHE SAID MY NAME!" He ran with her out of the living room. "LINK!" Link appeared at the top of the stairs, and Shadow had the happiest look on his face as he repeated,

"SHE SAID MY NAME!"


	31. Chapter 31

AN: BAM! New chapter, despite FOUR EXAMS . . . this is because I love you people . . . *sleeps for a year*

Thanks for reading/reviewing/favoriting/following!

* * *

Chapter 31

Spring semester arrived, and the snow finally began to melt. As everyone was getting busy studying, Shadow found himself with a lot of free time on his hands—he didn't have to study much. Rather, he chose not to. He came from a much more prestigious school than Hyrule Castle High, so he was used to a larger amount of work and had learned how to study incredibly efficiently. At least well enough to pass. The rest of his days he spent playing his guitar. Since he couldn't run, or skateboard, or . . . do hardly ANYTHING physical, he'd had to find some way to vent his frustrations. He found himself practicing for hours a day and into the night—in the garage, or else Link, Aryll, and possibly even Granny would kill him. Whenever Link, Sheik, and their friends came over, Shadow was practicing. Some days it was electric guitar, other days acoustic. His voice was getting lower—he could almost sing some of his favorite songs in their original key! Granny's cooking had done him good. He no longer looked like a skinny waif, and his skin wasn't as unhealthily pale. He was getting rather fit, too—even though he couldn't do exercise on his own, he worked with a physical therapist to make sure his heart and body healed properly and continued to stay healthy. He had training three times a week. The purple in his hair had finally faded completely and grown out. His hair was even longer than before. Ganondorf had taken him shopping for new clothes, since he'd outgrown his older ones. He was really going to miss that Save the Cuccos shirt . . .

Even though his dad was tolerant of his vegan ideals now, it didn't mean that Ganondorf was going to let his son run around in cheap T-shirts from Malo-Mart. He'd said something about Shadow growing up and needing to look like an adult, or whatever. Which meant Shadow had to earn his own money so he could buy his own digs.

So he did the only thing he knew how. He put an ad in the paper, offering his services as a guitar teacher.

It didn't take long for him to get his first student. He was not expecting it to be a classmate. He was definitely not expecting it to be Nabooru.

"So . . . how long have you played?" Shadow asked.

"Um, not at all," Nabs responded. It was pretty obvious, actually, from the way she gingerly and awkwardly held her guitar case in both hands.

"Okay, well . . . the weather's nice, so let's go outside."

"Outside? . . . Will anybody be watching?"

Shadow paused to consider. "No, I don't think so. But don't worry about it, we got a fence, and nobody's going to care."

"O-okay, if you say so. Um, one question."

"Yeah?"

". . . Is Link here?" Her cheeks reddened slightly.

Shadow mentally raised an eyebrow. "Ah, no, he's at work."

She nodded, hiding her disappointment.

* * *

"Good, now 1 . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . 4 . . . down, down up down, down up—almost! Look, watch me again." Shadow demonstrated the strumming pattern on his own guitar, and Nabooru watched him intently. "Okay, now you try. We'll go slow."

Nabooru fumbled with her pick, resettling her pink leopard-print guitar in her lap like she'd just learned how to do. "Um . . . so . . . down down up . . . uh, down. Down, up, no down—aaaugh! This is hard!"

Shadow laughed. "It's okay, it's just your first day."

"You're a good teacher."

"Thanks!"

"Okay, do I HAVE to trim my nails?"

Shadow grinned. "On your left hand? Yes! Right hand, no. See?" He held out his own hands. "You want long nails on your strumming hand for when you start finger picking."

"Dude, that is WEIRD looking!"

Shadow laughed. "Yeah, but I'm still better at this than you."

"Touche."

At the end of the lesson, Shadow found himself asking, "So . . . how did you and Sheik become friends anyway?"

Nabooru smirked as she zipped up her guitar case. "You mean as such an inviting, accepting person, why on earth would Sheik befriend a racist, man-hating transphobe like me?"

Shadow scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably. "Well . . . yeah." He gave a sheepish grin.

"Fair enough," Nabs replied. "I don't remember how we met, honestly. We've been friends since we were kids. I guess in the end we care about each other, and that's more important to us than what either of us believes."

"I guess."

"As for why she lets me be so man-hatingly racist . . . well," she stuck her tongue out. "You'll have to ask her." She shook her head. "I mean him. God, I'm terrible . . ."

"It's okay. Link keeps calling him 'Zelda.' Crazy, right?"

"Wow, even Link? That makes me feel a bit better . . . where does Link work, anyway?"

"He works for that school research program? With Shad?"

". . . How's that going? Since the breakup I mean?"

"Uh . . . okay, I guess. Link was pretty down for a while, but he seems fine now. I haven't heard him complaining about working with Shad or anything."

Nabooru smiled. "That's good! Um . . . is he . . . dating anyone new?"

Shadow shrugged. "I dunno. We don't really talk much about that kind of stuff. Guys, you know?"

She punched his arm. "Right. Well, see you at school!"

"Yup."

* * *

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?!" Sheik exclaimed, glaring at Vio and Midna. Vio stared back at her blankly, wondering why she was upset. Midna shrugged, squirming in her seat as the eyes of the cafeteria glanced their way.

"I had to . . . test things. Tell my people first, you know? This IS more our domain than yours."

Sheik calmed a little. "That makes sense. I sometimes forget you're a princess."

"You're not the only one," Midna scoffed, thinking of her elders and Zant. "In any case, I only told a few that I trust. I'm not sure how the others would react to what's going on, or if they'd try to hold it to themselves and use it against Hyrule, or something."

Sheik deadpanned. "Against Hyrule? Wait, are you serious?"

"Honestly? I don't know. That's why I've come to you. The council's gonna hate me, but Ganondorf isn't under Twilight Realm jurisdiction. But I wanted to come to you first, because . . . should I go to the king or the queen?"

"Mom. Definitely!"

Midna nodded.

Sheik was still dumbfounded. "I still can't believe you trapped _Krad! . . ._ Or that Krad is real!"

Vio raised an eyebrow. "Really? What have you been thinking all this time, that it was all in your head?"

Sheik scratched the symbol of the Triforce on the back of his hand nervously. "Well I mean . . . it's impossible. Why hasn't a shadow being been discovered by professionals yet?"

"Maybe he has."

Sighing, Sheik sat back and tapped his chin. "You know, I think we owe a visit to the Observatory."

Midna interrupted. "After we tell your mom about Krad."

"Okay, okay!"

* * *

 _I've got to bring Aryll out here!_

This was the last thought he should be having, but Link wasn't bothered. Master Darunia was yelling from the back of the boat, trying to control the rudder, and Shad was trying to hold the sail down. Link was hanging onto the ropes, standing near the bow, shouting out directions to Darunia. Saltwater sprayed into their faces, their hands slippery and wet, their tiny dinghy tossed to and fro by the bay's turbulent waves. The tide was coming in—the stupidest time to set sail. But that was the only way to make it to the ruins in the cavern at the end of the bay. At high tide, it was covered by the sea, at low tide, it was too high to approach by boat. And approached by boat it had to be. There were too many sharp rocks inside to go by foot or to climb. The ropes would be broken. Their dinghy was reinforced with sheets of steel on the bottom to protect it.

The dinghy rose up, and then down. Link balanced himself with the rocking of the boat.

"HANG ON, LINK! YOU DON'T WANT TO BE THROWN OFF!"

Darunia was always getting on him for only holding the rope with one hand. The air felt amazing in his face.

A giant wave approached.

"DANG IT, LINK! HOLD THE DANG ROPE!"

At the last second, Link leapt back into the boat, grabbing the handles by the mast as pounds of pressure in the form of water splashed over him. When he surfaced, Darunia was screaming something unintelligible. Link recognized the tone. Someone (Shad) had fallen overboard.

"SCRAP IT, LINK! WE GOTTA GET GLASSES BOY AND HEAD BACK TO SHORE!"

"Not yet, D man!" Link grabbed the anchor and tied an empty gas container to it. He located the redhead bobbing in the water with his life vest, then he aimed and threw the anchor with the chain in Shad's direction. Shad caught hold of it, and Link began reeling in the anchor.

Within almost a minute, Link was pulling Shad back on board, the soaking wet scholar-in-training sputtering, "Very dashing, Hero."

Link smirked.

"TOO LATE!" Darunia yelled, pointing at the cavern just ahead. "WE'RE GOING TO MISS THE SWITCH!" In order to get the ancient gate to open, a switch in the ground beneath the cavern had to be pulled. The ocean had almost covered the switch, and it would be impossible to swim in the waves and not be dashed against the rocks.

Link snatched up a free rope and tied a loop. He ran toward the bow of the ship.

"WHAT THE [BLEEP] DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, LINK?!"

Using the momentum from the next wave that sent the bow into the air, Link rose with the bow and it sent him up in the air. He threw the rope up, and it cleared the waves and landed straight on the switch. As the boat came down the wave, Link matched it's flow and landed surefooted back on the bow. Then he leapt back into the boat and pulled on the rope with all of his might.

A satisfying and ominous creaking sound reached his ears, and they watched the gate rise. "HYYYYAAAAA!" Link crowed.

Darunia said nothing at first. Then he started barking orders. "BACK ON THE SAIL, SHAD! LINK, MIND THE BOW! WE'LL GET THERE YET!"

Their boat tottered on the next few waves as Darunia tried to control the rudder and Shad manhandled the sails with a red, puffing face.

One big wave blew them up and into the cavern. They rode the wave past the threshold and up into the cavern main. The cavern was huge. They settled in a little puddle in the middle of the big entry cavern and held on for dear life as the rest of the tide came in. The height of the cavern was higher than the door, so once the door was closed up, no more water came in. They'd have a few several hours of air, and they had air tanks in case they ran out.

When the water finally became still enough for them to drop anchor, Shad and Link began rolling up the sail. Darunia turned on the four huge spotlights on either end of the dinghy, lighting up the cavern.

Link rounded his shoulders, and sighed, crossing his arms in a content way. Suddenly, a force smacked into his back and nearly sent him flying off the boat. "OOF!" He turned around. Darunia had given him one of his famous "back pats."

"Never do that again," Darunia started. "But . . . good job, Link." He pointed a fat finger in Link's face and gritted his teeth. "But NEVER AGAIN. Not while I'm captain."

Link grinned. "Yes, captain!" He couldn't help grinning. Boating was by far his favorite activity, and now a whole cavern of mysteries awaited him.

He loved life.


	32. Chapter 32

AN: Hello everyone! Thanks for being patient, here's a new chapter! Also, I would like to thank FF user niacdoial, a French reader, for volunteering to translate things into French! They made a translation for the poem I had Vaati write on his list in chapter 28.

 _Les roses sont rouges_  
 _Les violettes sont bleues_  
 _Je me sens mort_  
 _Et tu me manque._

Thanks, dude! You're awesome!

As always, thanks for reviewing/favoriting/following and just plain reading! :)

* * *

Chapter 32

The morning felt weird. He couldn't put his finger on it, but it kinda felt like he was being carried, and if he wasn't, he'd be blown away, like there was a protective shield around him.

Shadow stretched his arms over his head. Morning light filtered in through the window. He rubbed his eyes. His chest hurt just slightly. _Hey . . . I might actually make it to school today!_ He jumped out of his covers and landed solidly with his feet on the ground. Then smirked wryly. _Wow. That I would actually be EXCITED about going to school . . ._ He padded—or rather, thumped, because he was a teenage boy and his socks did little to dampen the sound of his heavy footsteps—out of the bedroom and down the stairs. "Gran!" he called as he reached the kitchen. "I think I'd like to go to school. I'm feeling alright."

Granny turned as if caught doing something wrong. She cradled the bowl full of batter in her arms like it was whatever she was hiding. Her mouth widened in a smile-less smile—you know, one of those ones parents liked to throw on their faces when there was something they didn't want their kids to freak out about. "Oh, good morning Shadow."

"Gran . . ."

Granny didn't let him finish. She set down the bowl and rushed about the kitchen. "I think you shouldn't go to school today."

Shadow was dumbfounded. Here he wanted to go to school and Granny . . . didn't want him to. Why? Well, it's not like it was going to hurt him. "Okay, I'll just watch TV then, I guess. Tell me when breakfast is ready?"

He started walking out of the kitchen, but Granny suddenly skittered over and grabbed his arm. "Why don't you go outside?!" Her voice was a little more insistent than it needed to be.

"Why?" Shadow asked suspiciously.

"Oh, it's such a nice day, and Hylia knows you need more sunlight! Now run along outside. I'm sure Aryll wouldn't mind going out with you."

"Okay. I'll take her to ice cream in town. That sounds like fun—"

"NO!"

Shadow jumped back in surprise. Granny composed herself. She put on that smile today. "Just . . . I really need help with Aryll today, and . . . she needs to stay near home today. She's had too many upsets today already."

"Well okay, Gran, you know you only have to say so . . . gosh . . ." It made sense that Aryll would need some extra watching if she was having a bad day, but something felt wrong.

It felt even more wrong when Shadow took Aryll outside and his little half sister behaved as though she'd never been upset the entire day. She was even talking in a conversational tone. So Shadow stole looks into the house through the windows, hiding when Granny caught sight of him out of the corner of her eye. He didn't think she ever actually saw him looking in, but it didn't matter.

Granny looked super nervous. She sat on a kitchen stool, staring at the phone with her small hand placed tightly over her mouth, as if the telephone could ring at any moment and with it, the end of the world as they knew it.

He felt a tug on the back of his shirt. He looked behind and found Aryll staring up at him. "Shadooooow," she crooned. "Seagull."

Shadow placed his hands on his hips and sighed. "Aren't you getting too old for that?"

Aryll hopped up and down excitedly. "Seagull!"

 _Too big, anyway_. Shadow picked her up around the waist and ran with her around the yard as she held her arms out and pretended to fly. Aryll made seagull noises, and her bird friends began to gather and follow their path overhead. Shadow amused himself by running in different patterns, trying to get the seagulls to follow.

* * *

Aryll eventually got bored of playing with Shadow and wandered to another part of the yard, speaking to herself in perfectly copied and therefore nonsensical sentences. Shadow got bored sitting outside, but ever since he'd come to live here, he'd done nothing but do what Granny said to. He just loved her so much and he wanted to stay . . .

He reached into his pocket—and found nothing. Deciding he must have left his phone in his room, he went inside and upstairs to retrieve it. It sat on his unmade bed, and he swept it up and swiped the screen to unlock it. He had no messages. _That's funny_. He went to his web browser and instantly saw breaking news splattered all over the screen, as though the entire country had stopped moving and working to gape at whatever the spectacle was. He read the headline:

 _Billionaire Gerudo Under Investigation, Arrested_.

Everything halted. The sky, the clock, Shadow's brain . . . everything. He couldn't believe his eyes. At first he thought it couldn't be. It must be another billionaire, but _gerudo_? What other . . . He tapped the closest article to see if there were pictures inside. It had to be someone else—

A picture of his father, Ganondorf, topped the page.

No, not a picture.

A mugshot.

Shadow's hand flew to his mouth, and he inadvertently sat on his bed. He stared dumbfounded at the article, his mind barely comprehending its words.

Billionaire. Gerudo. Arrested. Crimes against humanity. Gerudo arrested. No one else. Gerudo. Arrested.

Ganondorf Dragmire.

Shadow was drowning in a cloud of confusion. His body responded like a robot when he commanded it to stand and march downstairs. He wouldn't remember walking downstairs later. He wouldn't remember much of what happened after. What he would remember was seeing Granny and asking, "Gran, wh . . . why? Why is my Dad in jail?!"

And Granny replying with a sour face about how she'd forgotten teenagers could access the internet on their phones these days . . .

* * *

 _BREAKING NEWS_

 _Earlier today, business tycoon Ganondorf Dragmire was arrested under suspicion of crimes against humanity. The report came that he housed animals in his home without a license, and proceeded to carry out illegal experimentation on said animals. That is not the most shocking news, however, as it was recently revealed that Dragmire had not only animals, but_ sentient beings _in captivity. There is only one known victim at this time, a Shadow Being whose name is being withheld. Among these charges are also allegations of black magic and tampering with dimensions with ill intent. All of this spells ill for the billionaire. His son, Shadow, could not be reached for comment, and he is being guarded religiously by lawyers. As of now, Shadow is not being implicated in any of his father's illegal activity, although it remains to be seen whether or not the young Dragmire knew of his father's doings and chose to remain silent or was coerced, or if he knew nothing at all. Ganondorf has been implicated by the captive creature itself, as well as the testimony of the Princess of Hyrule, Zelda, as well as the Princess of Twilight, Midna, and a young man whose name and status remains unknown. All three will be required to testify in court come May, when Dragmire's trial will take place._

 _More info as if becomes available._

 _This is Hylia National News._

* * *

"I can't believe . . ." Shadow stared dumbly at the floor, sitting on his bed. Link sat next to him, fidgeting because of his ADHD. They'd been sitting here for what seemed like hours . . . "I can't believe . . . he did that."

"Who?" Link asked.

"Why would he tell on my dad like that? Why would he send him to jail?"

He was talking about Sheik, of course, Link realized. Sheik had been the one to take information about that Shadow Being to the queen of Hyrule, who then contacted the appropriate authorities. From Shadow's perspective, it was Sheik's fault that Ganondorf was in prison right now. "He had to tell, Shadow. He was experimenting on a human being . . ." Link knew it was no use explaining. Shadow was comprehending nothing right now.

"I thought . . . he was my friend."

Link put a tentative arm around Shadow's shoulders and scooted slightly closer to him. "He IS your friend. It's not your fault, Shadow. And it's not Sheik's, either. I hope you understand that someday."

"How could he . . . I don't have a home anymore."

"Yes you do. Here. With me."

"Everything's gone. Everything's destroyed. I can never go home now."

Link's stomach sank as he remembered just a few shy months ago, Shadow had been thinking about mending fences with his dad and moving back in with him. Link and Sheik had convinced him not to because they were both severely afraid of Ganondorf's temper after finding out how Shadow got his burn scars.

The desire was still there. Shadow loved Ganondorf . . .

In a way, Link understood. Shadow felt his father was being stolen away from him. Link couldn't count the times he wanted to just _go home_. Not here home. But home home. With his dad. And his mom.

But that home wasn't there anymore.

Shadow turned to Link with a panicked expression. "Does this mean I can't go home?! What's gonna happen? They said all of his assets would be seized. What's gonna happen to me?! Who's gonna pay for my physical therapy, my—my—my—"

"Shhhh, it's okay. We'll figure it out."

"Why does everything bad happen to me . . ." Shadow buried his face in his hands.

"Well, not _everything_ ," Link tried, then shut his mouth quite firmly. No point tempting fate by jinxing themselves.

Shadow just shook his head.

* * *

"I'm just gonna repeat this year," Shadow announced morosely from under his bed covers.

"Huh?" Link asked, looking up from his homework.

"I mean school. I don't even want to study anymore. School is stupid. Everything's stupid. Life is stupid. I'm stupid."

"No you're not."

"You're stupid."

Link sighed. "Shut up."

"Shut up is stupid."

"Enough already! You're not stupid and you are NOT repeating a grade!"

"Already is stupid. Everything's stupid."

"Is Aryll stupid?"

". . . No."

"Then be quiet."

Shadow paused. "Stupid."

"I'ma PUNCH you!"

* * *

"How is Shadow?" Sheik asked at lunch.

"A miserable pain the the neck," Link responded. "I don't know if I can stand it much longer."

Sheik grimaced. "Has he said anything about me _at all?_ He hasn't talked to me since . . . since that day!"

The day his dad got arrested. "Yeah. He still won't talk about it. Any time I bring up the subject of you, he just ignores me or walks away or . . . rolls over. He hasn't left his bed for days."

"What about Ganondorf? Has he gotten to talk to him at all?"

Link shook his head. "The authorities are worried Ganondorf might manipulate Shadow into saying or doing something to convince the jury to pardon him in May. They're taking no chances. They really want Ganondorf to swing."

"Now Link, you know Hyrule doesn't have a death penalty," Sheik said somewhat automatically, although his face visibly paled.

"I know . . ." Link replied, also slightly automatically.


	33. Chapter 33

AN: Long time no see! Have a chapter :D I have a slight buffer, so there WILL be a chapter next week as well.

Happy summer days off!

* * *

Chapter 33 (I KNOW HOW TO SIGN THIS NUMBER IN ASL! WOW!)

"That's very good, Shadow. Just keep that speed and I'll check up on you in a few minutes."

Shadow sighed as he continued the snail's pace on the treadmill. He was at the Hylia Royal Hospital for his regular physical therapy. He felt like a cyborg with wires and sensors attached to his various body parts, checking his vital signs and monitoring his heart.

It was so boring here. He hated having to be here two hours three times a week. It was annoying. _Can't I just walk at home? This isn't even exercise!_

He hung his head, arms limp by his side as his feet _fump, fump, fump_ ed along.

A nurse's voice interrupted his thoughts. "This way, that's it." Shadow turned his head to the left—to the left. The nurse was helping a teenage girl onto the adjacent treadmill to his own. The girl was about Shadow's age, he guessed. She had pale skin, but freckles dotted her cheeks and nose. She had wide, full lips and wide blue eyes. Tangles of red hair haloed her face and fell down her back. Her right leg was wrapped up and also had one of those knee support things strapped to it. The girl gripped the arms of the treadmill tightly, putting only the slightest amount of weight on her injured leg. After setting up the machine, the nurse left them alone.

"What happened?" Shadow asked.

The girl looked up and gave a friendly—although a little pained—smile, and replied, "Fell off my horse." She had a farmer's accent, one of those cool country ones.

"Jeez!" Shadow grinned. "Why'd you do that?"

She chuckled. It was kind of like a mix between a little girl's laugh and a grown up giggle. "What makes you think I did it on purpose?"

"You look too smart to have done it by accident."

"Well, I must have a death wish, then."

"Haha!"

"You're not wrong, though. Dunno why I'm so set on training that darned filly. It's obvious she ain't meant to be rode."

"What's her name?"

"Epona. Had her since I was in middle school, but she won't let anyone ride her. Not my pa, not my ma . . ."

"So you're family's a bunch of ranchers, then?"

"Yup. We got cows and horses. And chickens, although those are just for us. We don't sell 'em or anything."

The two chatted for a while. Shadow learned the girl's name was Malon. Talking to her provided a good distraction. A few minutes later the conversation turned awkward. For Shadow anyway.

"You heard about that big tycoon that went to jail? Ganondorf Dragmire what'sit?"

"Yeah," Shadow replied reluctantly.

"My daddy used to work for him."

Shadow's ears perked up. "Really?"

She shrugged. "At least, before he went to jail for tax evasion."

Now Shadow's ears perked all the way up. He almost fell off his treadmill. "Your dad's in jail, too?!"

"Huh?" She looked at him in surprise. Then grinned and laughed. "Your dad's also in jail? Well how 'bout that. What's he in for?"

"Uh . . . you know that big business tycoon?"

"Yeah?"

"And that kid they keep trying to talk to but is surrounded by lawyers?"

"Yeah, I heard about him."

"That's me."

Malon did a double take. "No!" She shook her head and paused on her treadmill and stared at him. "What in tarnation?! WhaddYER doin' here?" She paused and looked around. "What'm I doin' here? Where are all them lawyers?" She shook her head. "But whaddYER doin' here?!"

"I sort of had a heart attack, so now I can't even walk without a doctor's note." Shadow rolled his eyes.

"Whoa nelly! That's awful. And yer dad's in . . ."

"Yeah."

"Well darn it, I'm sorry, Shadow. It's no fun."

"I'm sorry your dad's in jail, too."

They chatted more, until finally Malon said, "Hey, do . . . do you wanna get coffee sometime and . . . talk about it?"

Unexpected relief filled Shadow. He hadn't really been able to relate to his family (who had literally no experience with a family member in jail), or Sheik (who he was still mad at anyways). "That would be great. When?"

* * *

"I'M SOOOOOO STREEEEEEESSED!" Sheik had his elbows on the cafeteria table, hands gripping his hair, which was all askew in every direction.

Nabooru patted him on the back. "What's wrong, Z-Sheik?"

"Shadow hasn't spoken to me in DAYS. I don't know what to do!"

Nabooru frowned, biting the inside of her cheek. Shadow had canceled this week's guitar lesson since . . . well obviously, he wasn't exactly in the mind for that sort of thing.

Midna took a monstrous bite of her spinach burger (they made literally everyone else gag) and chomped noisily, tearing up the lettuce with her fangs. "Yeah this kinda sucks. I mean we had to do it, but now the whole Twilight Community is up in roars about me superseding the council and going straight to the queen, and—gulp!—I mean I'm fine. I'll be fine. I'm totally fine!"

"You're stress eating," Sheik noted.

GULP. "No I'm not!"

"Is it really that bad?" Nabooru asked, curious. She had her own reasons for being upset. With such a big figure as Ganondorf being arrested, life for Gerudos everywhere just got a lot more . . . complicated. She didn't even like walking home alone anymore. Her grannies picked her up in the family car. They only had one, and couldn't even pay the gas, but what were they supposed to do? Nabooru had to go to school.

Midna sat back and sighed contentedly. Then she let out a huge burp. "They're saying the only way to retain the Royal Family's name and power is to marry me off to Zant, which is what they wanted anyway."

Sheik and Nabooru both freaked out. "But you're only fourteen!"

Midna rolled her eyes. "Well, yeah, they're gonna wait until I'm eighteen, but still. There's no way in HECK I'm getting betrothed to that freakazoid!"

"I won't allow it!" Sheik shouted, sitting up straight. "I cannot as a royal of this country allow this travesty TO EXIST! NO! No marriages shall happen without my approval! NOT EVER!"

Midna patted his arm. "Whoa, there, calm down Shakespeare. This isn't a drama, and you're not its queen."

Sheik sighed and deflated. "You're right. BUT STILL!"

"Don't worry. I have a plan."

"Oh?"

She smirked jokingly. "Gonna ask Vio to marry me so he can use Twili magic and piss the council off at the same time! It's not like we'll ever sleep together anyway."

"Why's that?"

"He's gay. Obvs. He has SUCH a thing for Shadow, I can't even tell you. And there's no way I'm ever finding VIO attractive! I'll find some hot . . . you know . . . hot waitress or whatever."

" _Waitress?!_ "

Midna blinked several times. Then she waved and grinned. "Hi guys! I'm gay. So anyway, I heard there be pudding." She got off her seat and hurried back to the lunch line.

Nabooru and Sheik were left staring at the place she left. Then Nabooru remarked, "Makes sense."

Sheik nodded. "Yep," and shoved another potato chip in his mouth.

* * *

Aryll and Romani were working on colors again. Aryll had a hard time getting them straight because of her vision problems. They mixed together like a watercolor painting . . . or a crayola drawing, depending on the day. Aryll felt it was a good thing, really. She knew when she was focusing well when the colors stood still.

"Brown!"

"No, try again."

"Ummmm . . . B-brown!" She was certain of it.

"No, it's not brown." The tiniest of annoyance was in her voice. Romani didn't like to give up, but they'd been working on this for a long time. Feeling guilty for letting her down, Aryll grabbed her hair tightly and thought harder. "Let go of your hair, Aryll."

"N-no . . . it's . . . BROWN!"

"Let go of your hair, Aryll."

"BROWN!"

Link was having a hard time of it, himself. He couldn't focus on his homework, the words were all scribbles and each letter he wrote he traced over seventy times until the ink made the paper so soggy his pencil broke it. He kept glancing at Aryll on her knees, struggling so hard just to function normally. He'd watched how Romani worked with her for months now and knew that without her help, Aryll wouldn't be progressing so well. She was talking more, getting more physical, able to be around strangers for longer without being so frightened, not having meltdowns as often.

His forehead tightened as he frowned. He passed a hand over it, trying to work out the muscles. It felt like he hadn't smiled in ages. He hadn't felt like that since his parents died.

The front door opened and Shadow came in. Like had happened since his dad went to prison, Shadow went straight up the stairs into their room and shut the door. Link let out a rough breath, then slammed a fist on the coffee table.

"Link!" Granny scolded from the kitchen.

 _HOW did she HEAR that? The kitchen's on the other side of the house!_ "Sorry, Grandma." He went back to his homework. Or tried to. He knew what Granny was doing in the kitchen—counting dollars. They'd received an anonymous note from Aryll's mysterious benefactor, the one who had donated $10,000 for her care and promised more every year for an indefinite amount of time. The anonymous note had reversed everything.

They had just a few short months to either come up with thousands of dollars, or else lose Romani as Aryll's caretaker. Granny likely would had hidden the note, but Link had gotten the mail and recognized the envelope and opened it right away.

He and Granny had already had their huge fight about Link ditching school next year to take care of Aryll. Granny had stated that as long as he stayed under her roof, he would stay in school. Link had spent the next several hours figuring out HOW to leave home . . . but it was impossible. He couldn't get a job, pay rent, and . . . and . . . it was impossible. He was fourteen!

And anyways he ran out of steam. He loved Granny, and Aryll, and Shadow . . . he could never run away. He knew Granny was right. There was no way he could do half as good of a job as Romani, either. _I should have spent more time with her. At least then I'd be BETTER than I am at helping her . . ._

He felt helpless. He crumpled up his homework in frustration and got up from the floor. He carefully opened the door and shut it behind him as he left the house. Then he focused on the soccer ball that he'd left in the grass. He yelled loudly and kicked it as hard as he possibly could. It went flying across a couple houses and landed in somebody's back yard.

 _Meh. I'll get it later._

He grabbed his skateboard from the fence and tossed it ahead, landing on it and skating off down the sidewalk, feeling much calmer.

* * *

"Can't I get a summer internship?" Link asked Darunia, who sat opposite him in the Rock Diner.

Darunia crushed a small boulder in his hand to get at the crystals inside. He began picking the gems out and popping them into his mouth like sunflower seeds. "I'm sorry, Link. I only get funding for the school year. In the summer I have to return to my homeland to help my people."

"Can't I help out there, then?"

Darunia grinned. "I would love the help, but I don't think your grandma would let you go without a fight, and if there's one thing I've learned as tribe leader, it's that you do not fight with grandmas."

"Whoa! You're the tribe leader?"

Darunia nodded. "I am now. And if after you graduate you ever want a job in Death Mountain, or need anything, you hit me up. Until then . . ."

Links spirits dropped. "You're coming back next year, aren't you, Big Brother?"

A smile crossed Darunia's features as he reached over to slap Link's back.

Link took that as a no. He stared at the top of his table despondently. "What am I gonna do?"

Suddenly Darunia laughed. "Don't look so sad, brother! There are many jobs in Hyrule, and you're almost fifteen. I'd say that's old enough to work, and with my stamp of approval, you'll be able to get into any labor intensive work easy. You just send me the contact info of any potential bosses and I'll make you sound so good they won't DARE say no. Cheer up, okay?"

"Thanks, Darunia . . ."

"Anytime, Link. Anytime."

"Well I'd better get started then!" Link jumped up and hurried to the door.

And came back.

"How . . . how do I apply for a job exactly?"

Darunia laughed again.

* * *

This job required too much speed for a skateboard. Link went careening down the streets of Castle Town on a bike, stopping in at every business he came across, even deli and dessert shops, dropping off resumes and trying to talk to bosses. He was out until after dark, that day and for the rest of the week. He had never biked so much in his life!

Nobody seemed to want to hire a fourteen year old, even though he said he'd be fifteen once the summer came around. He dropped Darunia's name as often as possible, to the point that he had to think hard before answering every question with the name. He made a list on his phone of every employer he thought seemed slightly interested to hand to Darunia, especially the ones who did cool stuff like mechanic shops or heavy lifting.


	34. Chapter 34

AN: Everyone drink responsibly and legally. This is no joke. With that said, some people are going to get into some trouble in this chapter . . .

Guest #1: Yep! You guessed right! I hope you enjoyed it all. Thanks for leaving reviews!

Ignitious: Glad Malon's going over well. She'll pop up more in a couple chapters. I think next chapter . . .? Or else the one after. Thanks for the reviews! I love hearing my readers' thoughts on the plot! . . . Even though I can't say anything because spoilers . . .

Guest #2: Thank you so much! As far as chubby people, I do have underrepresentation of that. HOWEVER . . . I don't do extremely well at describing characters, but I've always seen Midna in this story as chubby xD I don't see her in her true form, but her imp form, but it didn't make sense for her to have such a huge head and tiny body, so instead she's chubby! And really, really, REALLY short. I'll try to make that clearer in future chapters. Thanks for the heads up!

Also, as far as disabled characters, I have the same problem with describing characters . . . Shadow is disabled because of his heart attack. It doesn't come off very well, but it's why he can't skateboard or do anything too strenuous anymore. He also has severe burn scars on his forearms. Vaati is blind in his right eye because of his albinism (my explanation for why he's so pale), and Aryll is autistic to the point of probably never being able to be on her own even when she's an adult. Link has very mild ADHD. I'm not saying you're wrong, I'm just wondering, what sort of disabilities would you like to see represented? I'd love ideas!

I'm so glad you've enjoyed my story! I hope you keep reading. Thank you for reviewing!

Thanks to Cinderfall201 for favoriting/following!

* * *

Chapter 34: Someone I am

Shadow glanced at the clock. 2:13 a.m. The last time he'd checked it had been . . . 2:13. He rolled over. He'd rolled over so much that he was quite tightly wound within his covers. He wiggled his arm free and grabbed his phone, flipping through his contacts. At first his thumb hovered over Sheik's number, but he just couldn't push send. He wasn't sure why he was angry at Sheik. It wasn't his fault. He understood _why_ his dad went to jail, but he couldn't understand it. His dad experimented on a human being? Well, a Shadow Being. His brain kept trying to rationalize: _It wasn't a real person—he didn't know it was a real person—he hurts animals, not people_.

He scrolled past Sheik's name. This is why he couldn't sleep, these damn thoughts! Sheik brought them out simply by being the one that sent his dad to jail.

I mean it was Mrs. Harkinian, but still. Sheik squealed.

 _Stop it! Sheik's not a snitch and he's not a . . . a . . . a_ bitch!

He scrolled through his contacts, wondering who might be awake at this hour, or who might not kill him for waking them up on a Friday night or . . . would actually wake up after a late night on a date or just being awake because it wasn't a school night.

His finger paused on one curious contact, one he hadn't realized he had. Curiosity overrode the creep factor, and he clicked on the name to see if there was more information.

Oh boy, was there more information.

A picture of Vio winked at him. The guy's phone number, address, email . . . actually three numbers and three emails and the address of some shelter for foster kids or something.

 _I didn't know Vio was a foster kid . . ._

That sort of made them the same. He had a place to stay, but it wasn't really HIS home, although it was great! But it wasn't with his mom and dad. He wondered if Link felt similar. He glanced over at Link, who was sleeping soundly. Said something about biking around all day for Aryll. He'd been doing that a lot this week . . . Shadow didn't know how biking was supposed to help Aryll, but okay. He hadn't really been listening . . . he hadn't really listened to anybody lately. He just didn't have it in him.

He untangled himself, which took about half an hour because he was trying not to wake Link, then snuck downstairs to the living room. He booted up the computer. Among the addresses and numbers, Vio had also put, among others, his Instapic, Gossip Stone, MiiSpace, and vidFairy accounts.

So Shadow started snooping.

There was activity as little as a few seconds ago on his MiiSpace, and on his TingleChat (nobody thought it would last, but now everyone used it) every few minutes there appeared a pic of him at some cafe. He got a few likes from friends each time.

His curiosity was killing him. He pulled out his phone and texted Vio.

 _Le magestic me: hey y u put your contact info in my fone?_

A few minutes passed.

 _Vio: Hello. Chatspeak is for losers._

Shadow's eye twitched.

 _Le me: What the hell, Vio! This took thirty years ti tyoe so youd better anser!_

 _Vio: Hahaha, such typos, very laze. How are you?_

 _Le me: can't sleep. Where are you?_

 _Vio: In bed, moron._

 _Le me: no your not_

 _Vio: *YOU'RE_

 _Vio: So your watching me online, hm?_

 _Le me: shut up and answer my question!_

A looong two minutes passed, and Shadow wondered what the guy could possibly be typing. An answer maybe?

Finally the text came:

 _Vio: I'm not speaking, I'm typing, so I can't shut up, and if I could, and did, then I couldn't answer your question, so now we're at a stalemate._

 _Le me: You just don't want to answer. Fine. I'll go back to bed and delete your contact info. JERK._

His phone buzzed not two seconds after he sent the text. He answered it. "Hello?"

"Hi," a timid voice replied.

". . . Vio."

"I'm sorry, I hope you're not mad at me."

"It's late, dude."

"You texted first."

"Yeah, texted. This is a small house. If I get grounded for being up, you're dead!"

"You didn't have to answer."

 _That's right. Why did I answer?_ "Why are you calling?"

Silence, and then, "Please don't delete my contact info. I know I should have asked, I'm sorry. You blind my morals, shay-shay."

"Don't . . . don't call me that."

"Hey, I'm sorry."

"You already—"

"Not about that. About your dad. I was involved in it—but I swear I didn't wanna be! I didn't know your dad would go to jail, and Midna and Sheik were determined and they didn't even ask me."

"Wait, you . . . what do you mean you were involved?"

"I'm the one who stopped Krad. I mean I had to, he was going to hurt you. And it was really interesting and I wanted to talk to him but I couldn't do it alone so I had to get Midna and she got Sheik and then . . . then they called Sheik's mom the queen and that was the end of it all." He sounded legitimately put out.

"Krad's the being Dad was . . . experimenting on . . . what's going on, Vio? I don't understand anything you're saying. Sheik hasn't said anything, and I haven't spoken to Midna or anything."

"You can't sleep."

"Well, no."

"Do you know where the Milk Bar is?"

". . . Yes."

"Do you want to meet me there?"

"Vio, I don't wanna get in trouble."

Vio laughed. "No, no, there's an all night diner nearby, but I doubt you would recognize it. You should come out. I will talk to you."

"Um . . ." Shadow listened to the tiny house. He thought he heard Granny snoring from her upstairs bedroom. He hadn't snuck out since he'd come to live with Link's family. He hadn't felt the need to.

 _Don't do it,_ Shadow's inner head told him. He almost listened, but then he remembered how Sheik had betrayed him, and Link was busy as heck, and the prospect of sleep was nauseating as he thought of the endless thought circles raging through his head every time he lay his head on the pillow.

Nobody else was awake, and he couldn't call Sheik. "Okay."

* * *

There was a cop car on the way, but Shadow had grown several inches the last year and inside his hoodie, he came off as an adult. No one bothered him, not even the bus drivers. He'd left his skateboard at home. Too suspiciously teenager.

He came around a corner and saw a giant circular sign outside a red-roofed building: Milk Bar. He'd never actually been this close to a bar before, not even with his dad. He felt all sorts of butterflies and his mouth seemed to just want to start grinning like a convict. There was a sad little porch with sad little wooden tables and chairs that looked like they'd put splinters in your butt. There was a small, dark figure sat at one of the tables, so Shadow shrugged and figured he'd give them a shot. Maybe it was Vio.

Not more than three steps later and someone grabbed his arm. "BOO!"

Shadow nearly jumped out of his skin. The figure at the table lifted their head at his yell. Shadow half-heartedly karate chopped the mysterious grabber, having recognized the laughing face just in time. "Jeez! Vio."

Vio let go and pushed his hair back, still grinning. He was wearing a dark purple jacket and close fitting jeans. And for whatever reason, he wore cowboy boots. He looked down at Shadow, who was a few inches shorter, and raised an eyebrow. "You're too easy. Relax."

"Okay. Fine. What do you know about Krad and my Dad?"

"Right to the point? Oh please, we haven't even sat down yet." He strode in the direction of the bar. He reached the steps to the porch, one foot on the first step, and looked back. "You coming?"

Shadow was sure it was stupid, but he still felt the need to state the obvious: "That's the bar."

Vio shrugged. "So? Ingo doesn't give a shit. He knows me. Nobody's gonna catch you." He smirked, his eyes daring, and nodded behind him. "Come on."

Aware he had been lied to, Shadow stayed behind with his mouth open. Vio was so confident. _It won't hurt anything, he knows what he's doing . . . right?_ The Milk Bar . . . he wondered if there was a famous local musician on stage right now. Maybe Link's ex boyfriend Shad was playing, or that band the Indigo-Gos from Outset. He bit his lower lip and crunched the bottom of his shirt in his gloves. His feet seemed to decide for him, driven by curiosity and excitement.

There was a bouncer at the door, and he waved Vio right in and Shadow as well after getting a nod from Vio.

The bar was dimly lit, metal tables and chairs spread around a wooden floor. A stage sat at one end, lit hardly better than the rest of the place. The curtains were pulled, but there was no one performing. Various patrons sat around drinking, and several others were crowded around the stage, dancing. The music was extremely loud where the dancing was.

"What are you doing?"

He looked up into Vio's amused face, and realized he was basically riding on Vio's coattails, practically hiding under his arm like a frightened rabbit. He leapt back, and Vio burst out laughing again. Shadow felt his face burning. _What's wrong with me?_

Vio hooked an arm around Shadow's neck and shepherded him to the bar.

Shadow tried to wiggle away. "Dude, we're gonna get caught, I can't go to the BAR, they'll recognize—"

Vio wouldn't let go so easily. He tapped on the bar. "Pint for my friend, here. Maybe . . ." He glanced at Shadow, sizing him up and down. Shadow squirmed. Then Vio smiled. "Romani Spritzer."

The big-nosed man behind the bar also stared Shadow up and down. Shadow thought for sure he'd be recognized. Everybody knew who he was now because of his dad. Just because they kept his name and photo out of the papers since he was a minor didn't mean anything . . .

But the bartender just nodded. "Chateau for you, sir?" He asked Vio, whose grin widened. The bartender nodded again and went back to doing what Shadow guessed must be bartender things.

Vio pushed him gently into a stool, and Shadow sat shakily. "I can't believe you made me do this. Wait, isn't a spritzer a lame drink?"

"You ever drink before?"

"Yes!" Shadow lied, all too vehemently.

A full giant mug of Chateau Romani landed in front of Vio, who began drinking like an obvious pro.

Shadow's brow furrowed. He kept zipping and unzipping the end of his jacket. He was still super nervous. "You do this a lot?"

"I _go here_ a lot. Don't make it sound like a crime."

"Oh. Sorry."

A glass of something landed on the bar in front of Shadow, making him jump again.

"Holy Farore, thank the _Goddesses_ ," Vio exclaimed. "Now drink up before you pop a vein or something."

Shadow stared at the drink curiously. "What's it . . . what's it like?"

"Just try it."

"I don't feel like making any stupid faces or . . . noises."

Vio almost choked on his next gulp. He gave Shadow an incredulous look. "Just drink it you ninny."

Shadow stared at it again. Then he shrugged. "Oooookay." He gingerly took the glass, sniffed it warily, then brought it to his lips. He didn't quite make it before bursting into giggles.

"What?" Vio asked, the corner of his mouth curving up.

"I'm at an adult bar, drinking . . . alcohol."

"Exciting, isn't it?"

Shadow had to admit it was. He finally took a sip. And promptly made a face. A weird face. Then he swallowed. "Well that was . . ." The aftertaste finally smacked him full on in the face. "Ooooh!"

"Yup, there it is."

"That's _good!_ "

"Ya think? This bar's famous. I wouldn't take you to a shitty bar and feed you a shitty drink." Shadow took another drink. Vio scrutinized his half-empty glass, then Shadow's face. He was silent for a few more gulps, and then, ". . . You want another?"

"Oh gosh, sure!"

"Try mine."

"What?" Shadow responded as Vio pushed it in front of him. Shadow noticed he had drunk a good deal less than Shadow just had. "I'm vegan."

"Pfffft, everyone knows there's not ACTUALLY any milk in it . . ."

"But isn't it, like, super expensive?"

"Don't worry about it. I said I'd make things up to you, and I will."

"Yeah, about that—"

Vio pressed a finger against his mouth. "Shhh. Don't ruin it."

Shadow stared at him in some confusion, so Vio adjusted his seat and flashed another grin at him. "What YOU need," he said, leaning over conspiratorially and looping an arm around his shoulder, "is _fun_. Not talking, not explanations, you've had a shit load of that. How about . . . you swear to me you don't think about anything important for the next hour, okay?"

Shadow found himself staring into Vio's confident, ice blue eyes, wanting to trust him very much. He didn't know him that well . . . but Sheik did, right? And anyways, what could possibly happen? He suddenly felt very emotional, and wondered if that was the lame spritzer. "I just feel like I need a break."

"I know."

"And nobody's been there, and nobody gets it. I mean my dad's in _jail_." Vio gestured at the bartender to refill the mug, but Shadow didn't notice. He just kept drinking every few seconds. "Everybody's treating me like I'm some sort of freak, and I just don't know who I can trust anymore. It's just so stupid. I just thought Sheik was my _friend_." Tears threatened to fall down his face. He clenched the mug in his hands.

"You're a lightweight, apparently," Vio noted.

"No I'm not," Shadow protested tearfully.

"Shut up." He stole the mug away from Shadow's grabby fingers. Shadow stared at his empty hands as though he couldn't figure out how the mug disappeared. Vio's mouth twitched in all directions as he tried not to laugh. "Let's go dance."

"Okay."

Shadow got up, but before following, Vio downed the rest of the drink in one go. _If he gets to be drunk, so do I!_

Vio and Shadow found a tiny space on the dance floor, and Vio remarked, "I think it's cute you're such a lightweight!"

"WHAT?" Shadow shouted back.

Vio giggled.

* * *

Link was sitting in a green field, watching a red filly kick her heels into the air. Then Ganondorf's face appeared in the sky. Link freaked as the Gerudo's mouth opened, and a rumble that shook the earth left it in intermittent intervals.

He smacked butt first in a pile of blankets on the floor of his bedroom. "What a weird dream . . ." He noticed right away that Shadow's bed was empty. _I wonder why he's up_. Shadow always slept in. I mean it was sort of expected since his heart attack, but still, having him up first was weird.

Especially since Link always slept in as long as school would allow. _Now why would he be up?_ Then he realized, thinking back on it, that Shadow HAD been pretty tense since his Dad went to jail, and he had mentioned something about being unable to sleep, but Link had been so busy worrying about Aryll's future that he had been entirely insensitive. _Aw, man . . . some brother I am!_

He got up and threw his clothes on, didn't bother to comb his hair, just ran his fingers through it. It bounced around and settled back on bed head. _I need a hair cut._

" _You need a haircut, Link!_ "

 _Link pushed a hand through his hair, as though that would help._

 _Ravio smirked, then ruffled Link's hair beyond recognition. "Let's get ice cream instead."_

 _Link grinned and threw his arms around his dad's strong torso._

Link frowned at the mirror, tears welling up. The mantle of responsibility was weighing down heavily on him. Shadow was basically incapacitated, Aryll could barely speak, and he even felt responsible for Grandma, who was getting old. A weary sigh escaped Link as his frame crumpled a little. He went downstairs and started pouring some cereal. "Grandma, I'm gonna go job searching again this afternoon, so I'll be home late again."

"Oh, Link, it's almost the end of the school year . . . don't you want to wait until summer to start looking for a job?"

 _Then all the jobs will be taken. That's what Shad and Darunia were saying_. "No. I'll be alright. Don't worry, Grandma." He kissed her on the cheek and ran out of the kitchen with cereal in hand. "Bye Aryll!" he shouted as he reached the front door.

"Bye bye!"

* * *

Sheik stared at his phone. He was getting messages from Nabooru and Groose, but had heard virtually nothing from Link or Shadow or even Midna in a week. Shadow he understood, and Midna he knew was trying to defend herself against angry councilors who felt she should have kept the whole Krad thing with the Twilis and not told the Hyrulean Royal Family.

He had no idea why Link hadn't contacted him, but that was nothing new. Link was terrible at communicating through text. But usually he would call back if Sheik called first, and he hadn't. _Is he mad at me, too? For Shadow's sake?_ It would make sense. After all, Ganondorf was foster brother to Link's biological dad. _I just ruined everything. Some friend I am._

A knock came at his door, and with his permission, his mother came in. "Do you want to go to school today, sweetheart?"

Sheik stared at the ground glumly. ". . . Not really."

His mother nodded understandingly. "Okay. Would you like to help me with my errands? We could—"

"Mama . . . I kinda just want to stay in my room. Is that okay?"

Mrs. Harkinian's forehead crinkled in worry, but she said, "Alright, Dear . . . I'll be downstairs if you need to talk."

"Okay, Mama."

Hours later found Sheik still in his bed, staring helplessly at his phone. He got a few messages from Nabooru during lunch hour, but they were not very comforting.

 _PrincessNabs: the Hylians are saying you only did it to fix your reputation, not for your country. I don't know where they get this stuff. The Gerudos think it's a complete set up, and the Hylians are starting to listen._

 _PrincessNabs: The Gerudos held a protest at school. They want to dethrone you as student body president. The headmaster was nodding in agreement._

Well, he couldn't exactly disagree. It's not like he'd been doing any of his duties as student body president, but also . . . he knew that wasn't why he was getting axed. They never would have axed the Princess of Hyrule before she came out as trans.

 _PrincessNabs: Now the Twili are weighing in. Everybody's watching the news, it's like the Triforce Nabbing situation all over again. You'd better not come to school for a while. I don't think it's safe._

Sheik sighed and put his phone away. _No chance of that anyway._

A few minutes later, his phone buzzed. And then buzzed again. _Somebody's calling? Maybe it's Link!_ He sat up and grabbed his phone again.

And froze.

The caller ID read "Daddy." Sheik hadn't heard from his father in weeks, not since before all this Krad mess, when Krad had threatened to hurt his mother and then mysteriously disappeared. He pushed receive and held the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

"It's me, Zelda."

"Hi, Dad, what are you calling for?" Sheik tried to keep the excitement out of his voice.

"Can't a man call his daughter?"

". . . Yeah, if he had one."

Silence.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Sheik backtracked quickly. "How are you?"

"Me? How are _you?_ You've been through a terrible ordeal, and I've been off in my own world brooding like a child. How are you holding up, peanut?"

Sheik found it hard to answer due to the sudden lump in his throat. "I'm . . . Sh-Shadow won't speak to me, and I think Link's mad at me, too."

"Why?"

"Because Ganondorf is Shadow's dad, and Link's adopted uncle, and they probably just hate me."

"What? Link's adopted uncle? What on earth are you talking about?" Sheik could hear the guilt in his father's voice as he realized exactly how much of Sheik's life he was missing out on.

"It's a long story," Sheik said.

"Well . . . how about we pick you up and you can tell me all about it?"

Sheik straightened. "Are you in Hyrule now? Mama said you went to Labrynna."

"Mama—" It sounded like the word came out unexpectedly, then he continued to hide his surprise, "—was right. I was in Labrynna for a few weeks. Before that I went to Outset to check up on our summer estate . . . we're still planning on going there this summer, aren't we? Together, as a family."

"Yeah, yeah, we have to!" He couldn't help it. His excitement kept pouring through. He stood up and caught himself in the mirror. "Um, Daddy?"

"Yes, peanut?"

"I don't want to get dressed up . . ."

"You dress however you're comfortable. I'll wear my loafers, how about that?"

Sheik's nose crinkled the way it did when he was amused. "Sounds good. Can you be here fast?"

"Fast as lightning."

"Okay. See you soon!"

When Sheik hung up, Mr. Harkinian stared at the picture of his wife and daughter, which was the backdrop of his phone. He knew Zelda well. She never called her mother "Mama" like that, not since she was a toddler, although he remembered Mrs. Harkinian telling him how Zelda had called her that sometime after she first decided to be trans. After he had yelled at her.

 _My daughter is not well, and I haven't been there for her._

He made a decision. He would find out who the monster was that exposed his daughter's cross dressing and sent pictures to the papers. No matter what, it was a private family matter, and while normally he was not very strict about what the papers wrote about his family (a new alleged scandal came out every two weeks), this one had terrorized his daughter for close to a year.

For all he knew, she felt obligated to continue with the charade of being a boy because of peer pressure, and now because of the newspapers. Perhaps she felt trapped. If only he'd been more involved in her life instead of freaking out . . .

 _Some father I am_.

* * *

AN: I really need to add some GOOD father figures, don't I? Oi . . .


	35. Chapter 35

AN: WARNING: some cursing. Mostly censored, but . . . you know. Just remember: Vaati = mush, and Blue = cursing!

Thanks for reading/reviewing/following/favoriting!

* * *

Chapter 35: The Morning After

Shadow wasn't sure if he was asleep, or if he just thought he was asleep and was actually in hell. He was on top of something knobby and lumpy, and became aware he was not exactly under a blanket. Or something. His head felt like mush, cloudy, and he thought he maybe had the flu. Was he upside down? No, just . . . angled downward. He lifted himself and almost slid backwards off whatever he was laying on. He had no idea where he was . . . the room was unfamiliar. He poked one of the lumpy things that he was laying on top of and discovered they were legs. Somebody else's legs. He followed them to the feet, and wondered why there was no head . . . then rolled his eyes at himself and looked in the other direction. Vio was laying facedown, perpendicular to Shadow, his unbuttoned shirt lying loosely about him.

 _O-kay . . . what did I do last night?_

He remembered meeting Vio, going into the bar, drinking, dancing, talking, then going someplace quiet, or at least quieter, more talking . . . not so much talking . . . _Oh my Goddess. Did we make out?!_ . . . _What._ Vio still had his pants on, so it couldn't have gone far.

Now it was coming back. Shadow promptly got off the bed and ended up being so dizzy he literally fell to the ground and smacked his head on it. "HOLY SH*T!"

Vio stirred. He lifted his head groggily. "Shadow? You awake?"

"Oooouch! Where the hell am I?"

Vio flinched, but didn't react otherwise. "My house."

". . . _What?!_ What did we do? What happened?"

Vio rolled over and sat up. Then he grinned. "We had fun."

 _Did we? DID we, though?!_ "Why did you bring me here? HOLY—IT'S BRIGHT OUTSIDE! GRAN'S GONNA KILL ME!"

"Well I wasn't gonna, but then you were so drunk and then you were talking about your friend Fotti or whatever and how you used to cuddle him at night all the time and you missed it, sooo—"

Shadow sort of remembered that. He scrambled around the room as well as he could. "Where is your HOUSE?!"

"Kakriko district."

He heard footsteps coming up what must be stairs. Then the slightly ajar door was pushed all the way open and an angry-faced guy with messed up blond hair and who was dressed in a handy-man's uniform appeared and shouted, "WHAT THE ACTUAL F*CK, VIO! THERE ARE NO BOYS IN YOUR ROOM, NO FRIENDS, NO SLEEPOVERS, NO NOBODY! IT'S AGAINST THE RULES!"

Vio plugged his ears, staring defiantly at the ceiling.

The new guy rounded on Shadow with his hands on his hips. "What's your name? . . . Oh Gods, are you a hooker? Tell me you're not a teen hooker. How old _are_ you?"

Shadow wasn't paying much attention. He kept glancing around frantically. "Dude, where are my _pants?!_ "

Vio pointed. "Over there, on the chair."

Shadow scooped them up and put them on in record speed—for a guy with his first hangover.

"You recover quickly," Vio commented in a pleased sort of way.

"I can't believe this," said Shadow, bowling past the new guy and out the door.

"But you had fun, right?!" Vio shouted after him. One side of Shadow's mouth turned up before he realized it as he careened down the stairs.

"I'll call you later!" he said.

* * *

Vio leaned back with his arms behind his head contentedly.

"Vio, what the heck, listen to me!"

Vio creaked one eye open. "He's not a hooker, you dolt. He's a friend from school."

"From _school?_ How can he be from school if you don't even go?"

Both eyes open. "I _do_ go."

"Your report card says otherwise."

Vio grunted. "Grading systems are nothing."

"You can't just go to school and do your own thing, Vio. You actually have to do the assignments the way the teachers say."

"It's so _boring_." An image of Shadow dancing filled his head, and he grinned. "Shadow's not boring."

"Is that the kid's name?"

"Yeah. Pretty neat, huh?"

Blue shook his head. "I can't believe you're dragging another kid into your bullshit, Vio."

"He's fifteen."

"And you're sixteen, and a foster kid, and should know better. I could go to jail if they found out I had drunk teens sleeping over here."

"No you wouldn't, you'd just lose your guardianship over us."

"And that would be better for you?"

" . . . Get out of my room, Blue."

Blue's face turned red with rage. He stomped over and grabbed the front of Vio's shirt. "When are you gonna stop being such a selfish asshole, Vio?! You may hate me, but Red and Green are HAPPY here. For Goddess' sake, at least pretend to care about their feelings!"

Vio pried Blue's hands off his shirt and stood up. "Oh dear, I might have to call CPS."

"You—F—Goddamnit, Vio!"

"I don't care."

"If you go out again after curfew—"

"I'll do what I want and you won't stop me."

Blue got right into Vio's face. Vio tried to back up, but the wall got in the way. "YES. I. WILL." But Blue's face had turned white. Vio knew he didn't want to say whatever he was about to, and he wasn't saying it out of anger, even if that's what his voice indicated. Vio gulped. Blue continued, "If you can't shape up for the rest of us . . . I'll have to . . . I'll have to send you back to the shelter! I can't let you get the others in trouble. I can't let you . . . _ruin_ this for them."

For once, Vio was speechless.

So Blue continued. "Better than you ending up in juvie. I would know. Stop being a little f*cker, Vio, I'm serious. I'll make you move out."

Vio was silent for several seconds, then attempted a smirk. "You wouldn't."

With a bit of struggle, Blue replied firmly, "I would."

The smirk faltered and vanished. "What would Green say?"

"Doesn't matter. If you can't get your act together, you're going to get Green and Red sent back to the shelter, too, and I'll be alone, and I don't feel like doing that to them just because I care about you. If Red goes back he'll be crushed. You know that. So it has to be you. What do you want?"

Grimacing, Vio said nothing.

"Damnit, _talk to me, Vio!_ "

Vio slowly edged past Blue and walked out of the room.

"Vio . . ."

He couldn't think of a reply . . .

* * *

"Time to eat!" Red's cheerful voice greeted Blue when he got home from work. Green was trying to find a save point in his video game in the living room, and Vio was nowhere to be found. Of course. Blue sighed and entered the kitchen. "What's for dinner, Red?"

"We're having homemade pizza!" Red replied happily.

Blue smile back. Red always put a smile on his face. "Homemade pizza? But then why don't you just buy it?"

"Why don't you try it and see?"

Blue sat down at the table—the dining room was connected to the kitchen and kind of bled into the living room. Their house was super tiny, but it was all they could collectively afford with government assistance. The upstairs was meant only for bedrooms. Blue got his own room, and so did Vio, and Red and Green shared, although Green more often than not fell asleep in the living room. _If they had a trophy for who took the most and longest naps . . ._

There were red, blue, green, and purple triangle paper flags strewn across the walls in addition to photos in painted cardboard frames. Blue had thought it was a waste of time, but Red had insisted they decorate and make the house their own. Some sort of bonding experience and also to make this place as different from Hyrule Castle Town Child Protective Services as possible. Now Blue was glad for it. There was nothing worse than going into a room with bare walls. It's why he hated hospitals. And jail, though he'd only been there two months.

Blue was the only legal adult in the room. Then there was Red, who was seventeen, then Vio, sixteen, and finally Green, who was barely thirteen. He'd made it into the battle of the bands on a technicality (Vio forged something, most likely).

Red set a soda on the table in front of Blue. "By the way, did you say something to Vio? He's been behaving all day. He went to school. Did his chores. He's even upstairs doing his homework. The way the teachers said."

" _Homework?_ " Blue's jaw dropped. Vio doing homework? . . . Had his threat worked? Was Vio going to behave now? That was great, but he still felt like a piece of shit for the shit he'd said.

"I know he is, because I've been checking on him, and also he came down once asking how to do a problem. Turns out he's not very good at understanding directions from his teachers. I guess he was embarrassed because he's normally so smart and that's why he's never said anything before." Red ran out of the kitchen and up the stairs. "Hey Vio! It's time to eat!"

"I'm not done yet . . ."

"It's okay." Red smiled at the door. "You've been working hard. Come down with the rest of us!"

A short pause. "Is Blue down there?"

Red was confused. "Of course."

"Then I'd like to eat in my room, please."

Back downstairs, Red asked Blue, "What did you _say?_ "

From behind, all Red could see was Blue's ears turn red, and his hunched shoulders. "Nothing he didn't deserve," Blue insisted.

Red blinked with a thoughtful expression. He walked into the living room. "GREEN!" He pulled the younger guy's earphones off. "Pizza time! Scramble!"

Green gasped and looked up innocently. "Is it homemade? I didn't hear you order any."

"Yes!"

Green was at the table in a flash. "Wait! Where's Vio?" Green never made it to the table before everyone else. He couldn't stand waiting.

"He's not feeling okay," Red covered.

"Oh." Green looked slightly concerned, then he grinned and grabbed his fork and knife and pounded them on the table. "We! Want! Food! We! Want! Food!"

"Shaddup!" Blue chuckled, and ruffled his hair.

* * *

"You should go talk to him."

"No."

"You should go talk to him."

" _No_."

"Blue, you really should."

"Red, I said _no_."

It was eight o' clock. The three were in the living room chilling. Link was playing a video game again. Blue was . . . _trying_ to watch, but Red was doing nothing but sitting with his arms folded, still wearing an apron, trying to convince Blue to go make up with Vio.

"He's been upstairs _all night._ "

"Why don't YOU go talk to him?"

"You know this isn't my mess. What'm I gonna do? 'I'm sorry Blue's an ass'?"

Blue kept his mouth in a straight line. "Maybe."

Red studied Blue's reaction, tapping an arm with his fingers. "You can say that yourself."

Blue sighed and pulled his hat off. "There's nothing I can say to make him feel better, Red."

"Yes there is. Just say you're sorry and make it up to him—"

"I told him I'd send him back to the shelter."

Green gasped, and off came the earphones as he blinked at Blue with his mouth open.

For his part, Red was pretty shocked as well.

Blue was practically tearing his hat apart by twisting it so hard and so tightly in his hands. He stood the others' shocked stares for a few seconds, then stood up and walked upstairs. He knocked on Vio's door. When no one answered, he got suspicious and opened the door.

The room was empty, and the window was open. "DAMN IT VIO!"

"What?"

Blue jumped out of his skin. Vio stood looking offended and pale, having just come out of the hall bathroom. Blue covered his mouth and ducked his head sheepishly. "Sorry."

They stood facing each other for probably three minutes or so.

"Can I get to my room?" Vio finally asked.

"Why don't you . . ." Blue asked quietly, slightly through teeth, "come downstairs."

"No thanks," Vio replied immediately. "I've got a lot of stuff to do."

Blue quelled the rage boiling up. "In your _room?_ " There was nothing in there but books.

"Yes. In my room. Can't I at least have my room or do you feel the need to strip that from me as well?"

Blue stepped aside. "Okay, but Red's gonna cry."

From downstairs, Red's deadpan voice called, "Don't drag me into this, Blue!"

"Green's gonna cry. He hasn't seen you all day."

"I helped him with his homework." Vio walked into his room.

"Oh," Blue replied as Vio's door shut quietly in his face. So he walked to the top of the stairs, fists still clenched around his hat. _I'm gonna cry_ . . . He turned around and barged into Vio's room.

"Blue, what are you—"

"YOU'RE COMING DOWNSTAIRS!"

"What?!"

Blue grabbed the smaller boy around the waist and dragged him kicking and screaming and yelling . . . and then they were wrestling and Vio was insulting his intelligence and Blue was calling him a little f*cker and somehow they ended up downstairs with Vio complaining to Red and pacing while Red kept offering slices of leftover pizza while Green kept playing his video game, smiling happily and chatting at Blue, who sat in a ratty thrift store armchair, staring quite firmly at the TV and only responding in grunts because he knew if he tried to say anything he might sob, and he wouldn't give Vio the satisfaction of seeing him cry.

* * *

Shadow was upstairs, without dinner. Grandma had been pretty livid when she found out he'd been gone all night. He hadn't truthfully said _where_ , or _why_ , or with _whom_ . . . but it was bad enough just being out past curfew. "I just went home," he had lied, "to sleep in my own bed. You know."

He thought that would've calmed her down, but it hadn't.

"And no NOTE?! No TEXT?! In the age of all these technological advances and electricity-wise teenagers you couldn't have bothered to CALL ME? UPSTAIRS, YOUNG MAN! I CAN'T EVEN LOOK AT YOU!"

"I have NEVER seen anyone that pissed since my Dad found out I skipped school one day," Link commented a few hours later when he joined Shadow at bedtime.

"Where were you all day?" Shadow said, trying to change the subject.

"Looking for a job," Link said. He started explaining about Aryll.

Shadow wasn't really listening. He just wanted Link to not ask any questions. As much as he loved last night, and as much as he actually felt kinda bad about lying to Granny . . . he couldn't bring himself to tell Link any of it. It felt kinda nice, having a secret with someone nobody even knew he was meeting. He pulled out his phone and sent Vio a text.

The two texted back a forth a bit before Shadow finally decided to go to bed. He noticed Link was already asleep. A twinge of guilt. Obviously Link had noticed he wasn't listening and had stopped talking. Didn't even bother to say goodnight. Or maybe he had and Shadow just hadn't been listening.

He felt bad . . . but the crappy feelings he'd had about his dad and Sheik and now last night overrode everything else. He got under his covers and rolled his back to Link, closing his eyes.


	36. Chapter 36

AN: I decided to publish a chapter in the middle of the week because I felt like it! I feel like this chapter reestablishes where a lot of the characters are at this point, too, so it's a good foundation chapter, I think. Anyway, thanks for reading/favoriting/following/reviewing/ just being here! You rock!

* * *

Chapter 36: When what you need isn't who you need.

Link sat waiting for an interview at Linebeck's Shipyard. Since the note telling them Aryll's funds were running out, they'd been having Romani come less and less . . . an attempt to stretch out the year's funds. Link was faced with the difficult decision of either working, or staying home to care for Aryll. If he took care of Aryll, then they could save the money for Romani during the school year . . . but if he worked, then they could keep Romani anyways, but no one would be there for her in the summer as much.

And Shadow . . . as much as Link knew Shadow cared about Aryll, he had no idea what he was doing. He barely even understood what autism was.

Maybe he could change that.

He shook his head. It didn't matter. It was pretty much clear Shadow was not going to finish his grade at high school due to his heart attack, doctor visits, and all of his family drama. He would have to do summer school and couldn't be there for Aryll, either.

He stared out a nearby window. Where _was_ Shadow, anyhow? Link felt like he hadn't seen him for days.

* * *

A light, but warm breeze blew loose sand into the air. It felt good against Vaati's bare skin as he stood outside Ezlo's hut on the beach. He stood barefoot, wearing the leaf outfit he'd grown up accustomed to seeing—it was basically a leaf skirt, with a leaf on his head to block the sun. He wore a leaf mantle around his shoulders to protect his pale, extremely sensitive skin from the sun, which Ezlo had made him wear, but Vaati hated it. He wished he could tan like other Minish . . . but he just got huge brown freckles that had Ezlo muttering, something about "cancer." Vaati paid no mind. He paid little mind to anything here. In the distance, out over the ocean, he saw the object he had been waiting half an hour to see, flying low over the waves.

A red, double-winged airplane, stuttering confidently in the wind, leaving little poof clouds in its wake. Like always, the pilot—Mr. Quill, the only one brave enough to fly out so far from western civilization—waved at Vaati, his pilot's goggles and hat masking most of his face, his scarf blowing in the wind. Vaati waved back. Mr. Quill is the one who originally flew Vaati to Hyrule in the first place. They'd nearly landed in the ocean several times, but it was all very exciting to Vaati.

Mr. Quill fumbled around his seat for a bit, and as he passed overhead, amidst a putt putt from his engine, a tiny bundle floated to the beach.

Vaati recognized the envelope before he'd untied it from the rest of the mail. Shadow had written him again. Shadow wrote to him a lot . . . Vaati had never answered, but he appreciated the letters all the same.

He trotted back to Ezlo's hut and went inside. The bamboo hut was tiny, but the bamboo furniture, the palm leaf cushions, everything was home to him. Comforting. He walked to a side room where his bed was, lay belly down on his bed, and opened Shadow's letter eagerly.

 _Sup V!_

Well that was a cheerful beginning. Shadow's letters lately had ranged from sad to depressed. A change of pace was nice . . .

 _So things are crazy. My dad's in jail :(_

Um. Never mind. NOT a change of pace. What was going on in Hyrule? He kept reading. Shadow laid everything out, this letter was longer than all the others. Vaati felt really sad for his friend. Shadow wrote about the rest of his life as well, his distrust of Sheik, his distance from Link and his grandma and half sister, his frustration at not being able to exercise, how the only thing that brought him any joy these days was his guitar . . . and there was something else. Something new.

 _I met this guy_.

Vaati felt a pang. But he bravely kept reading.

 _I mean he's a cool guy, he's really smart and super, super cool, like REALLY cool . . ._

Oh my goddess of Light, Vaati thought, we need to get this boy a thesaurus!

 _He takes me out to eat a lot, and we go do things at nighttime when we're both supposed to be in bed. Kinda reminds me of what we used to do, V :)_

Vaati smiled. At least Shadow was thinking of him during these excursions.

 _But he kind of wants to date me, I think, and I don't know how I feel about that. Like, he talks me into doing things and I get into trouble, but I dunno . . . it's so much FUN! I just don't get any fun anymore . . ._

Vaati's stomach began to sink very quickly, and his hands began to grip the letter so hard his palm sweat distorted the sides completely. He kept reading.

 _He's one year older than me—happy birthday me! It was two months ago, which you know, but anyway I never get tired of saying Happy Birthday to ME!—and he's taller and he's really nice. It's just . . . sometimes we get into some pretty bad trouble. Like not serious, we don't get caught. But I can't remember what happened in the morning, and neither can he, and sometimes . . . I mean . . . like when he holds me, it feels . . . nice. Sometimes when our faces get really close, I get really strange butterflies in my stomach. Is this what you were talking about when you said you liked me?_

Vaati gripped the letter even harder. _Yes! Yes that is what I meant!_

 _It scares me that I like these things, Vaati. But I feel weird, too. Sometimes when he looks at me I don't understand what he's thinking and it scares me. He's a foster kid, he knows SO much more about everything than me, I'm so new at this. What should I do? I wish you were here. You'd know what to do. You always know what to do._

His heart was pounding.

 _I feel like crap. All the time, V. And I can't believe I'm even asking you any of this, I mean I know you like me, or maybe you don't anymore I dunno it's been a while . . . but I'm doing this stuff with another guy . . . and I don't know if I feel okay about it. . . but the thing is, when I'm with Vio, I actually DO feel okay . . . for a while I just forget everything. I mean he's got a crush on me, whatever. I don't want to lose him. What do I do?_

 _With love,_

 _Your Shay-Shay_

Vaati gulped for the thirtieth time, then grabbed a paper and quill and inkwell, and began writing to Shadow for the first time in what seemed forever.

* * *

 _Hey there sexy~_

 _Sorry I haven't written sooner . . . I've been really sad. But I get all your letters and I read all of them every day! Also, get a friggin thesaurus, WEIRDO._

 _Anyway, about this 'Vio' guy, DON'T DO IT! Nothing good ever comes of dating someone older, I mean he's only a year older, but he lives kind of on his own and doesn't have any parents, right? So he's basically an adult? STAY AWAY FROM HIM SHADOW! You're only going to get hurt, he's only going to hurt you. You should listen to your grandma! You were right, you should stay away from the mushy stuff until you're older and DEFINITELY don't ever go to live with him! Don't let him do ANYTHING to you that you don't want him to—_

Shadow angrily crumpled Vaati's letter and threw it at the corner of his room. _Vaati's just jealous, that's all. There's nothing wrong with Vio, there's nothing wrong with what we're doing! What he's doing. He would never hurt me._ That flutter of uncertainty just would not go away. As much as he thought he loved spending time with Vio, there was something about it that just seemed . . . _wrong_. There was this emptiness that only went away when he spent time with Vio, but he didn't remember it being there before he met Vio. Even though they spent a lot of time together, Shadow find himself more often than not feeling lonely. He was constantly at odds with Grandma, never spent time with Aryll or Link, hadn't spoken with Sheik in ages, never went to school or even did his schoolwork, slept in late and never even saw anybody some days except his physical therapist and . . .

He picked Vaati's letter up, feeling guilty. His hands shaking, he caringly uncrumpled it. Vaati had gone to the trouble of writing him back despite whatever the horrible things he'd been going through, it must mean he's worried.

 _Why? Why am I at odds with ALL of my friends except Vio?! Why do I feel so much hate towards . . . EVERYBODY?_ He clutched Vaati's letter to himself desperately, beginning to sob.

* * *

"You're getting fat, Your Highness," the twangy high-pitched Zant's voice interrupted her thoughts.

Midna placed a hand on one heavy-set hip and thrust the other at him. "So?" In the last year she'd matured a lot, so she had a lot of figure figuring itself out . . . and with all the stress of being a princess to a stuffy council and . . . ZANT, causing her to stress eat waaaay more than was healthy . . .

Yes, she had been putting on a bit of weight.

But she exercised! And her doctor said she was healthy, soooooooo . . . Midna remembered her mother had big hips, and big boobs and . . . BIG . . . and was SUPER athletic and happy. Midna didn't find big bodies unattractive in other girls, so she really didn't think anything of it in herself. Rather liked it, actually, the thought of eventually growing up to look like her mum. Screw Zant and his anorexic ideals . . . Seriously, had that guy ever heard of a burger?!

Now Sheik. THAT girl knew how to do skinny! Well, boy. Before she was trans. Or maybe she was always trans.

Whatever.

"The point is!" Midna said, as though she had been speaking all of her thoughts out loud for Zant's benefit, "I'm not FAT, you're just JUDGMENTAL, and I don't dress for you." She huffed and gestured a languid hand, turning away from Zant to hide the sly grin on her face. "To think my _fiance_ is complaining about there being MORE of me . . . very degrading . . ."

Zant quickly began backtracking, "I'm just concerned for your health, Mid—I mean your highness!" He fell to his knees and began bowing down to her repeatedly. "I don't mind there being more of you as long as it's HEALTHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!"

Midna smirked and inspected her fingernails. "I don't know," she said, "I might just have to . . . run away from all of this!" She did so.

"NOOOOOOOOO! PRINCEEEEEEEEEEEESS!"

"Goodbye Zant, I'm off to marry the Monkey King on the Isle of Otala Wala!"

She flew out of a window and landed as deliberately heavily as she could manage. "FEAR ME WORMS!" She called, grinning toothily, "FOR I AM YOUR GOD COME TO PUNISH YOU!" She stomped her anger out on the grass a couple minutes, and then left the Twilight Estate.

As she exited the gates, she lifted her eyes from the pavement to almost run smack dab into the most gorgeous, hourglass shaped woman she'd ever laid eyes on.

Wait.

 _That's Sheik!_

"Wat."

It was Sheik, but he—she—HE was dressed in ladies skinny capris, a pink fluttery top with an empress bustline, and obviously wearing a bra.

 _A bra._

Midna chuckled nervously. "Sheeeeeeeik . . . what are you doing?"

Sheik's cheeks reddened behind—oh goddesses, he was wearing MAKEUP, and lots of it—EARRINGS?! And a . . . a . . . a necklace! And a clutch bag.

Hoo-ey, Zelda from the past was making a blast in the future.

"Wait!" Midna cried before Sheik could say anything. "I got it!" She brandished a finger at her friend's get up. "It's dress like the opposite gender day! . . . No? Um, okay . . ." Finally over her shock quite a bit, Midna began to feel concerned. "What's going on, Sheik?"

Sheik's shoulders hunched towards his ears as he reddened even more. "Just . . . call me Zelda, okay?"

That felt entirely wrong to Midna, but she said, "Okay."

A deep voice called from across the street, holding to ice cream cones. "Hey, peanut!"

Midna recognized Mr. Harkinian, of course. Her mouth opened. _Will wonders never cease?_

Sheik grinned and threw her arms around her father's torso. "Hi, Daddy!"

Mr. Harkinian handed her an ice cream cone and glanced at Midna, merely nodding. Sheik said a quick goodbye and Midna waved as they left.

It was strange, she thought. Strange how when Zelda came out as Sheik, it hadn't felt wrong at all. It just felt normal. But now . . . with Sheik pretending to be Zelda . . . it felt so _wrong_.

Midna began to shake with fury, fists clenched at her sides, almost crying from rage. _Sheik is male, he is NOT female, and King Johannes is making him feel like he has to act like a girl to get his attention! To have a FATHER!_ She spat in the king's general direction.

She'd never been so angry in her life.

No destination in particular in mind, Midna charged down the sidewalk, putting all of her anger into every step as she sprinted as fast and furious as she could.

* * *

AN: Sooooooo I went back and realized I described Midna as "petite," so I take that back about her being chubby before. But you can be petite and chubby both, can't you? Petite is more of a body type, isn't it? ANYWAYS, this chapter solidifies her figure for the forseeable future! MIDNA IS CHUBBY! And I misspoke. I guess she just really evolved in my head the last year I've been writing this story . . . Cha-cha!


	37. Chapter 37

AN: Oh my heck. I did update this last week, just not on Saturday . . . Happy summer vacation everyone! :)

* * *

Chapter 37: Le Bleuh

The courtroom was full to the brim, but not of the officials Sheik was accustomed to. A representative from every kingdom in communication with Hyrule was there to discuss the Shadow Realm. Those that were aware of its existence had different names for it, and those that didn't know of it wanted to.

His mother had a look on her face that Sheik knew meant she was about ready to zap someone with Holy Light. "I promise you, Delegate," she was saying with the poise of a queen, "There IS no threat at current time. The Shadow Being Krad has been here already for fifteen years. If there WAS a threat from his people, we'd likely know about it by now."

"But those years were spent primarily in Ganondorf's dungeons. As despicable as the man is, he DOES know what he's doing!"

Mrs. Harkinian deadpanned immediately. "Yes. He knows so well what he was doing that he DIDN'T know Krad was a sentient being, proceeding to torture him, dissect him, AND—"

The delegate interrupted, unwilling to hear more. "We know, we know the particulars! . . . What I mean is, what are we doing to make sure he can't communicate with his people? That thing is dangerous!"

Princess Ruto stood. "I object! He is not a thing!" Her cheeks were blue with rage. "He is a man missing his heart! You cannot judge an entire race based on one individual who DOES NOT HAVE A HEART!" Her overweight father, who she was spokesperson for, nodded.

Mrs. Harkinian gestured at them. "As Princess Ruto states. Our mission ought to be to return Krad to his people rather than waste valuable resources here trying to solve a problem they may already have an answer to. We WANT him to communicate with them."

A large voice boomed. Darunia, newly voted leader of the gorons, spoke up. "What does Krad have to say about this?"

Mrs. Harkinian shook her head, sadly. "I'm afraid Krad has been incapacitated, due to his lack of sustenance."

The senator of Holodrum, the one who'd protested earlier, spoke up, "His sustenance of human hearts!"

A wave of agreement spread through the room.

"Delegates, PLEASE!" Mrs. Harkinian said, "You are finding fear and danger where there need be none." Before anyone could interrupt, she continued, "I am not saying we run into this ram-shamble stupidly like blind-sided goats, but I ALSO expect, as the great leaders of this world, that we CAN behave in a manner suitable to our position—NOT IN FEAR LIKE RAM-SHAMBLE BLIND-SIDED GOATS!"

The floor shut up. Sheik resisted a snort. His mother rarely resorted to playground insults, but when she did, it was a beauty to behold.

A voice like a bell rang through the room. A young lady stood. She looked like a living statue, with an emotionless, silver face, what appeared to be stationary eyes, and static hair shaped like a simple up-do. She wore dark clothes with blue cross-hatch patterns, as well as a floor-length cape. "If I may, Your Majesty?"

Mrs. Harkinian nodded. "Of course, Lady Fi."

In a voice of earnest concern, Fi continued, "What of the boy? The one whose body houses the Shadow Being's heart?"

Sheik could feel the sympathetic, mixed feelings spread throughout the room by Fi's notion. As for himself, he merely shook, staring at his hands, not sure what or how to feel. Shadow hadn't spoken to him in weeks, and perhaps if he felt more confident that Shadow _shouldn't_ hate him he'd go pound on his door and not leave until Shadow opened up to him . . . but lately he'd been feeling so worthless. He could barely get out of bed anymore without prodding from his parents. Still, he listened intently, wanting to know how to protect Shadow if need be.

Queen Harkinian sighed, sadly. "I have put him on the list for a heart transplant. As soon as a heart is available that does not already have someone in greater need . . . he will be notified."

"Your Majesty," Fi continued, "I have calculated a 98% chance the Shadow Being cannot survive longer than a few months without feeding on a new human heart."

"Good riddance!" Shouted the Ocean's delegate.

Fi continued as though he hadn't spoken. "Also, due to his previous medical conditions and family genetic history, it is likely the boy whose houses the heart will have merely a 40% chance of surviving longer than three years after transplant surgery."

The Holodrum delegate was nodded his head hungrily, glad to have another reason to push his agenda. "That's a good point, thank you Fi!"

"You will address me as Lady Fi."

"But you're not even—fine, Lady Fi." He turned to everyone else. "My point is, this boy child is one of our own. Why should we sacrifice him for an outsider?"

Fi hovered a little higher, so she was taller than the Holodrum delegate. "There is a 12% chance based on behavioral observation that the beings of the Shadow Realm will take kindly to one of their own dying on Hylian soil."

The Holodrum delegate humphed.

"There is an 88% chance that they will respond selfishly as Mr. Holodrum has done, and refuse to help Shadow Dragmire since he would be an 'outsider' to them. We are in a quandry."

Sheik sniggered. Nobody but his mother had ever dared speak to the leader of Holodrum like that before.

"Our imperative, therefore," Fi continued, "should be Shadow Dragmire, to increase his chance of life. That way we do not rely on the Shadow Realm, in case they are hostile," she merely glanced at the senator of Holodrum, but her voice became slightly more twangy, "and we may remain _ethical_."

"Now SEE HERE!" The Holodrum delegate had gotten to his feet.

Fi was unfazed. "It is simply statistics, Mr. Holodrum."

"That's SENATOR Holodrum!"

"Your approach has led to more obliteration of species than any other approach known to historians. Lack of compassion does not live long and makes few allies."

"You're a brat!"

"Ad hominem."

Queen Harkinian leveled a gavel onto her pulpit. "Order!" She waited until the Senator of Holodrum sat down, beet red, and Fi had lowered herself back into her own seat. "How does the board feel about Lady Fi's suggestion?" There were several nods. "Good. Is there a motion to discuss ways to increase the life chances of Shadow Dragmire in order to lessen our reliance on an unknown race, and to hopefully safely return the Shadow Being's heart to him as quickly as possible?"

Darunia spoke first. "I so move!"

The Senator of Lorule spoke next, "I second that motion."

"Done. We reconvene in the morning. Bring your ideas and best minds, delegates."

* * *

Sheik was combing his hair in the mirror. He hadn't cut it in a while. It actually required brushing to keep in check. He didn't look bad this way, just . . . He turned from the mirror and picked up his phone.

It rang several times, and then disconnected. Shadow's voicemail was full. Sheik's spirits dropped. _I didn't know the chances of Shadow surviving a heart transplant were so low. That's not fair._ He began typing on his phone, erased it, typed again, rewrote it, kept typing . . .

* * *

Shadow's phone buzzed on the counter while he was talking to his dad, but Ganondorf didn't tell him, and Shadow didn't notice. He was at the Hyrule Maximum Security Penitentiary, and it was visiting hours. Him and Shadow could only talk through phones, a large, bullet-proof piece of glass between them. Ganondorf did little talking, and he kept his eyes on his son, who spoke nonstop about every little thing he could think of, and as fast as possible, as though they had little time left together.

Ganondorf held his anger in check. The last thing he wanted was to crush the phone in his hand and stop hearing Shadow.

Shadow spoke brightly enough, sitting back casually in his seat, staring off into space, one leg bouncing over the other. But Ganondorf knew better. Shadow had always been clingy and affectionate, and even now the fingernails of his free hand were scratching at the glass, desperate to touch him. Ganondorf couldn't fathom the idea of not getting to hug his son, possibly for the rest of his life. He had no idea how long he'd be stuck in here, with no rights to any sort of meeting with anyone outside of this confounded phone booth . . .

 _What a fool I am! To get caught like this . . . I swore I would always make sure Shadow had the best life could offer, and now I can give him nothing. NOTHING! I swear I WILL get out of here!_ He forced himself to stop angrily plotting and instead focus on Shadow. He needed to at least listen to the one person who still cared about him.

"—and Vio was like, ooooh, you've NEVER been in a relationship before, well me either, but we haven't kissed yet and then—"

"Wait, _what?_ " Ganondorf couldn't help but interrupt.

Shadow cut himself off. "Vio. My boyfriend. We made it official last week."

 _Don't say anything. Don't say ANYTHING negative!_ "That's nice. So . . . you're gay?"

Looking blank at first, suddenly Shadow laughed. "I guess I am! Wow, that's so funny! Did you know Link is bi? I mean I've never really been into girls, ever, so I guess I really must just be gay! Or something!" He laughed again.

 _Who is this boy?! Is he a miscreant? Is he POOR? Is he a bad influence? Just what does he want? If I ever get outta here, I'll—!_ Ganondorf bit his tongue, totally beside himself that Shadow had gotten into his first relationship. _I'm going to miss so much in here . . ._

"I wish you could come home," Shadow was saying.

Ganondorf was pulled out of his thoughts. "You wish . . . thank you, Shadow. I wish that, too."

"Dad . . ." Shadow wasn't looking at him. He knew what was coming next. "Why did you do it?"

The lump in his throat kept him from speaking.

Shadow's face was haunted. "I know you experiment on animals, but this shadow thingy . . . person . . . he's not an animal, is he?"

"I didn't know he was a person, Shadow."

"But why? What were you trying to learn?"

How could he? How could he tell his son that in a few mere months he could be dead? That his heart might fail completely, especially now that Ganondorf could no longer do his research, and the creature that provided Shadow's life was no longer in his grasp?

On top of that, how could he tell Shadow that if it meant killing a living being to save his life, he would do it, without question? He felt no shame for what he'd done. Shadow's life depended on it, and beings from the Shadow Realm could not be considered equal to Hyruleans, anyway.

A loud buzzer announced the end of their visit.

"Aw, man!" Shadow's face betrayed the anxiety he felt. A guard came up to take the phone away. Shadow hugged it. "Can't we talk for one more minute? One more minute!"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Dragmire."

"Do as the guard says, Shadow," Ganondorf said gently.

Shadow frowned. "You'd think they'd let you talk for longer than _twenty minutes!_ " He hung the phone up roughly and stood, seeming to suddenly want to leave right away.

A guard re-cuffed Ganondorf's hands and began leading him away when the hairs on the back of his neck prickled. He glanced behind and saw Shadow, who had come back, watching him go from behind the glass.

Ganondorf stood up tall and gave him a confident grin. The guard pulled on his arm, and he turned away from Shadow and walked forward, not letting the guard see the sorrow in his eyes.

* * *

Shadow stumbled out of the penitentiary in a daze, just like every week. The guards recognized him now, and they knew that at the end of every visit he would be too preoccupied in his mind to find the exit alone, so they always escorted him. The first couple of times they even drove him home or else he would sit on the steps in a confused state until nighttime. Today, though, he pulled out his phone to call Granny and tell her he was going to the movies.

He saw Sheik's text then.

 _Le Traitor: Shadow, I know you hate me and don't want to hear from me, and I don't blame you. I wouldn't want to hear from me, either, but you've gotta know by now you're sick, that your heart is dying! The council is talking about getting you a heart transplant, but there's not even a great chance of survival with that. I don't know what's going to happen, aren't you scared? I'm scared. I can't bear the thought of you dying on me when we're fighting like this. I don't care what I have to do or say, or if you just want to yell at me and say you hate me. I don't care. I just can't stand leaving things the way they are between us. Can I pleeeeeeaase come see you?_

Shadow read the text and read it again, several times in fact, but it still didn't make any sense. Why did Sheik think he was going to die? And what on earth did the council have to do with any of it?

More importantly, why did Sheik think that he hated . . . him . . .

Shadow changed Sheik's name on his phone back to Sheik. He dialed.

Sheik picked up almost instantly. "Hello?!"

"Uh . . . hi."

He heard Sheik gasp and then sigh in relief. "I was afraid you wouldn't reply."

"Yeah, well . . . I don't hate you, Sheik."

"Really?" The relief in Sheik's voice carried confusion with it.

"I'm just . . . angry. And mad, and I've never felt . . . this _bad_. I kinda feel like . . . everything's crashing down on me. Have you ever felt like that before?"

Sheik chuckled humorlessly. "Have I ever! When can I come see you? Can I come see you? Can we do something now?"

"Yeah. Well, wait. I'm meeting Vio soon, but maybe . . . later?"

"You're meeting Vio? What's up? Are you two talking about your heart?"

"What? No. Dude, what are you even talking about?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like with the council, and the heart transplant, and now Vio . . ."

"You mean . . . you don't know."

"NO! I don't know, that's what I've been trying to tell you! To tell everybody!"

". . . But if you don't know, then why . . . wait, why are you spending time with Vio again?"

Okay, suddenly this became really weird. Shadow remembered how creeped out he was by Vio at first, when Sheik had first met him. How strange and weird and closed off and secretive Vio had seemed. He almost smirked in discomfort. "Uh . . . he's my boyfriend."

Something dropped on the other end. Sheik was making noises. It sounded like Sheik had dropped his phone and was trying to pick it up again several times before succeeding. "He's your BOYFRIEND?!"

"Well . . . yeah," Shadow finished lamely, not sure how else to explain what was going on.

"Shadow, you can't—! SHADOW! . . . WHAT?"

Someone collided with Shadow from behind, wrapping arms around his middle. "Hey, you."

Shadow smiled. "He's here now. Do you wanna talk to him?"

Vio glowered. "Who are you talking to?"

"Sheik."

The glower deepened behind the tinted sunglasses. "Oh."

Sheik's voice was screaming out of Shadow's phone so loudly Shadow had to hold it as far from his face as possible, grimacing. "HOW IN THE NAME OF NAYRU HAVE YOU NOT TOLD HIM YET YOU NUTCASE?! AND NOW YOU'RE DATING HIM? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"

Vio reached up and pushed the hang up button.

Shadow looked offended. "Hey!"

Vio stepped out in front of Shadow. "I thought you weren't speaking to Sheik anymore."

"Well yeah, but he wanted to talk. Also he knows something I don't about all this and I wanna know what it is." Shadow made to step around Vio, but Vio stepped back in his way.

"You can't be friends with him."

Shadow was taken aback. "Why?"

"He'll lie to you. Betray you."

"Well maybe he's got a good reason. Maybe it was all a misunderstanding."

"No. It wasn't a misunderstanding. You CAN'T be friends with him!"

Shadow rounded on him. "I can be friends with whoever I want! Let's get that clear RIGHT now, Vio!"

"If you become friends with him you'll be kicking me in the face!"

Shadow cooled off slightly. "Why?"

Vio clenched his fists. "Because . . . he thinks I'm a _freak!_ "

Shadow's eyebrows furrowed and he shook his head. "That can't be. You must be mistaken. I'm sure he doesn't think—"

"He does!"

Shadow growled. "Then do YOU want to tell me what he's talking about? Heart transplants, the council, that Shadow Being guy? How about the fact I'm gonna DIE soon?"

"Don't worry about it," Vio bit out.

 _That wasn't a denial!_ Shadow stepped up close to Vio. "What aren't you telling me?! Why are you lying to me?"

"I just don't want you to get _hurt_."

"You're sounding like my _dad!_ " Shadow pushed himself away from Vio and started storming off in the opposite direction.

"FINE!" Vio screamed after him. "GO BE WITH THAT TRAITOR! BUT YOU'LL BE BACK! HE'LL SCREW YOU OVER AGAIN AND AGAIN, SHADOW! YOU WILL **ALWAYS** COME BACK TO ME!"

Vio's yells were making Shadow very unsettled, and the further away he got, the more he began to shake.

He felt awful. He'd never felt so sick to his stomach from a fight. As he got further and further away, he started feeling incredibly guilty, and began to slow down. His bit his lower lip and looked behind him. Vio was nowhere to be found. Probably stormed off just like Shadow had done. He pulled out his phone and hovered his thumb over Vio's speed dial number. _He's just worried about me, I didn't have to go off on him like that. I don't really know what's going on. Maybe it really is better if I don't know, I mean, Vio's never lied to me before, and if Sheik really does think he's a freak, then maybe I shouldn't be so angry_.

The thought of choosing between his best friend and his new boyfriend was sickening. He dialed.

A monotone, defeated voice answered. "What?"

"It's me, babe. I'm sorry."

"Oh." Vio sounded legitimately surprised. _He must not have checked to see who was calling_.

"I gotta hear what Sheik has to say, though, and I'm still mad at you for keeping secrets from me."

"Okay."

"So . . . I'll see you later?"

". . . Okay."

"Alright. Bye."

Vio took the phone from his ear and stared at it. All the negativity had flooded out of him. _But now Shadow's going to know what I did, that I'm part of the reason his dad's in jail . . . what if he hates me like he hates Sheik?_ . . . _What the hell did I even say to him? 'You'll always come back to me'? What does that even mean? I was so angry. It's like I was threatening him . . ._

His anger had terrified him. He hadn't even recognized himself. He'd always thought that Shadow was the one person, the one living creature on this earth he could _NEVER_ hurt, but what if he was wrong? What if everyone else was right? What if he was . . . a monster?

* * *

They stood outside the cafe Nabooru worked at.

"So."

"Yeah, do you . . ." Shadow held him arms out.

"OHMYGOSHYES!" Sheik practically flew into Shadow's arms, hugging him fiercely. "THIS HAS BEEN THE WORST TWO MONTHS OF MY LIFE!"

"I'm sorry." Shadow truly was sorry. Sheik looked like he'd been through some tough crap, and he'd always been there for Shadow. "I'm sorry I'm such a dunce. I mean of course you had to report my dad. He was experimenting on living, breathing beings . . ."

Sheik pulled out of the hug. "Okay. So how much DO you know?"

Shadow shrugged. "That's it."

Sheik looked a little pissed. "I can't believe he didn't tell you anything."

"Who, Vio?"

"Yeah!" Noticing the look of discomfort on Shadow's face, Sheik continued, "Nevermind that, let's go find a table and sit down." He took Shadow's wrist, somewhat tightly, almost painfully, and led him to the doors.

Shadow grinned.

When they sat down, Sheik told him everything. About how Krad had escaped when they snuck into Ganondorf's basement.

"Crap so it's MY fault!" Shadow interjected.

"No it isn't. Anyways . . ." Sheik told him how Krad had haunted him, forced him to do research, and even threatened to harm his mother and friends.

"Holy Din fire!" Shadow exclaimed, reaching forward to grab Sheik's hands. "Holy . . . I'm such an idiot. You went through all that and none of us even knew? Have you told Link?"

Sheik blushed. "I haven't told anybody, really . . . not even my mom."

Shadow shook his head. "What happened next?"

"Well, Vio started to help me. He didn't know about Krad at first. I think. I don't know how he found out, but anyway, he managed to capture Krad."

"What?"

"Dude, that guy's _insane!_ He has this whole lab and everything, he made a container for Krad all on his own, and when we told the queen he even made a whole NEW one somewhere else for Krad to be picked up in so no one else would know about his lab." He caught himself. "I . . . I'm sorry. I know he's your boyfriend."

"He has a _lab?!_ "

"Yeah. Underneath his house. Anyway, he captured Krad, but I didn't know about this for weeks. I thought Krad was just waiting until I wasn't looking to do something terrible." He shivered. "Then Midna calls me and apparently Vio had employed her help as well, because she knows about shadow magic . . . and SHE found out where he was from, and his name. She came to me because she knew I would be able to tell my mom, and we could take care of things . . . discreetly." Sheik lowered his face. "I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you, but I was afraid . . . I was afraid you'd tell your dad. I was afraid he'd come after us."

Shadow let all this sink in. Sheik waited quietly. Their milkshakes came, and they ate them silently.

After they finished, Shadow finally said, "Okay . . . what does this have to do with my heart and me dying?"

Sheik started. "Oh! Right . . . so . . . the reason your dad captured him in the first place is because he wanted to use Krad's heart to . . . to repair yours, because of your birth defect."

"What?!" Shadow suddenly gagged. It took him a moment to recover. _He didn't know it was a person, he didn't know!_ But still, doing that to an animal, even. It made him feel dirty. "That's awful."

"That's what he did," Sheik continued, looking away. "For fourteen years. He kept tearing parts of Krad's heart out so he could use its magic to fix yours, until Krad had no heart left."

"How is he still alive?"

"It's different for his people. Their hearts are their moral compasses. So without it, Krad is like a sociopath. He kills and doesn't care, and does what he wants and doesn't care who he hurts. All he wants, though, is his heart back. When he first appeared to me, he . . . he was going to kill you, Shadow. Right in front of my eyes! I convinced him to let me try to save both of you. That's why I started doing research for him, and then getting Vio to help me. And that's where we are now, but . . ."

"But what?"

"Your heart attack. Even though Ganondorf fixed your heart, it's still damaged. It's still dying. If Krad doesn't get his heart back, he'll die, and once he does, the part of his heart that keeps you alive will die as well, and . . . you'll die, too. That's why my mom is trying to get you a heart transplant, but . . ."

"There's not a big chance of me surviving or something?"

"Fi," Sheik said. "There's this girl named Fi, she knows EVERYTHING. And I mean EVERYTHING . . . and that's what she said. Your health conditions and the state of your body and everything make it so you might not survive, and if you do, only for a few years."

"Well . . . that sucks . . ." Shadow found it all a bit hard to take in. He studied his friend's face, and realized Sheik was still terrified that he was gonna die. "Hey."

Sheik looked at him.

"I'm not gonna die." Shadow smirked, feeling for a moment like his old self.

Sheik smiled slightly. "So . . . am I forgiven?"

"Of course you are! I mean it was never something you needed to be sorry about, anyways."

"But how are you doing?" Sheik could hear the pain in Shadow's voice.

"I'm . . . I don't know." Shadow's face blanked out and he glanced at Sheik. "I . . . really don't know. And now? . . . I really don't know."

Sheik let that sit in the air a few minutes, then said with a shy smile. "I'm glad we're friends again."

Shadow laughed and punched his arm. "We were never NOT friends! I just threw a tantrum. Blame it on my diet, I don't care."

Sheik chuckled as well. "We're gonna fix this, Shadow. We're gonna save you! Alright?"

"Right."

"And you're going to tell me when stuff gets bad, right?"

"Right. And you?"

"Yeah. So . . . you and Vio." Sheik grinned and raised an eyebrow. "How did THAT happen?"

Shadow groaned. "Oh right . . . speaking of . . ."

"Are things okay?"

"NO. He didn't tell me any of this! He said he wanted to protect me."

"Well," Sheik said uncertainly, "he means well, I guess? I mean that's kind of sweet. I guess."

"Yeah, yeah." Shadow suddenly smiled. "He is pretty sweet, though."

"I think you mean that in the skateboarder lingo sense."

"Yes, I do . . ."


	38. Chapter 38

AN: Okay, so things get a liiiiiittle bit mushy this chapter. Fair warning! (BAHA, this is ME we're talking about . . .)

Thanks for favoriting/following/reading/reviewing! It really makes it worth it! :)

* * *

Chapter 38

Link reread the oily, crumpled note in his left hand, then glanced up at the ram-shackle office to Linebeck's Shipyard. It was like a junkyard for small yachts, random half-built or half-sunk boats, most meant for only one or two passengers. Some had canons, others had cranes. Ripped fishing nets held collections of tiny knobs, levers, and gears, among other things.

The office itself was as much junk as the yard. Most of the white paint was peeled off, exposing the wind-battered, oil-brown wood underneath. The sign above the door was barely readable, but carved in a style reminiscent of old western saloons. The windows were tiny with cross panes.

Link tried the door and found it didn't require turning, since the mechanism on the inside had been gutted. The knob was just there for show, apparently.

Inside was a shop. Fishing lures hung against one wall, and along another tourist trinkets like ships in bottles and model islands, and a few books. It was dim, a single lantern wobbling as it hung from the ceiling, little wafts of smoke exiting with each wobble.

Behind the counter, a lanky, gaunt-faced man sat, cheeks and nose red, dark circles under his eyes. A wide-brimmed was perched over his face. His arms were folded, sturdy brown, heeled boots propped up over the counter. He had the tiniest of mustaches and goatees, and wore what must be a sailor's coat, a blue one, and a red cravat.

He was fast asleep.

Link walked up to the counter. "Excuse me?" he said, knocking on the counter.

No answer.

"Um, sir? I'm here for my interview with Mr. Linebeck . . ." It hadn't actually been a Mr. Linebeck who called him. It had been a woman with a melodic voice. So he had been expecting someone who fit that profile, not . . . this guy. Link pounded on the counter. "HELLO!"

The man started awake and fell off his chair. "AAAAH! EN GARDE!" He scrambled to his feet and put up his fists. "Scallywag! I'll gut you and throw overboard!" He threw a punch, but was so disoriented that he punched the air to Link's left.

Link frowned. "Hey, don't try to punch me!"

The man wobbled to the side as he scratched his head and tried to focus on Link. Then his eyes widened. "Oh, it's you!" He suddenly laughed, nervously. "You're just a lad. AHAHAHAHA and to think I thought I was being robbed!" He was actually quite a bit taller than Link, who was tall in his own right. He leaned over the counter, staring down at Link with one eye. ". . . What a small fry!"

"I'm here for my interview with Mr. Linebeck," Link repeated, already disliking this man very much.

"Aha!" The man straightened, gesturing at himself grandly. "You're in luck, for I am Captain Linebeck! Sailor of the Seven Seas!"

"There are only five seas," Link corrected.

"Oh, you know this, do you?" Linebeck gave him a disdainful look. "Have you ever BEEN on the ocean?"

"Yes, sir. I grew up on Outset."

Linebeck's eyebrows rose. "Oh." Recovering from slight deflation, Linebeck strutted around the counter. "No matter! You'll never know as much about the ocean as I!" He placed a hand on the counter and leaned on it, his other hand on his hip, and scrutinized Link. "Why should I let you work here, boy?"

"My name is Link," Link said through gritted teeth. He almost turned around and walked out the door. _No, Link, you need a job_. He cleared his throat. "I have a letter of reference from Darunia, the current Senator of Death Mountain and Goron Village." He pulled the letter from his pocket and handed it over.

"Darunia, you say?" Linebeck seemed to recognize the name, at least. He held the letter up to his eyes. "Hard worker . . . yes . . . resourceful! Ah-huh . . . brave, are we? HAHAHA!" He gathered the letter into one hand. "It seems you're pretty scrappy. For an inexperienced greenie, that is." He mussed Link's hair.

Link stepped out from under his hand and glared at him.

Linebeck, still holding the letter in his hand, put his hands behind his back and strutted a few steps away. "So tell me, 'Link,'" He spun around. "How are you about . . . _monsters?_ " He suddenly leaned forward, getting into Link's face and forcing him to lean back.

Link's mouth quirked. _Is this man an idiot?_ "There's no such thing as monsters, sir."

"'Sir.'" Linebeck straightened. "I like that. Politeness. Hmph! Not a trait you see commonly these days. Well I hate to tell you this, Link, but YOU'RE WRONG!" He pointed a finger insistently at Link.

"About monsters?" Link grabbed Linebeck's finger and shoved it aside. "There ARE no monsters!"

"You know this, do you?" Linebeck raised an eyebrow.

"YES!" Link confirmed irritably. "There are NO monsters in the ocean!"

For some reason, Linebeck smiled, an unidentifiable look in his eyes. Before Link could figure out what it was, Linebeck turned away. "Very well, then!" he said, straightening some fish figurines on a shelf. "Can you start straight away?"

It took a moment for Link to realize. "Wait . . . you mean—that's it? That's all you wanted to know?" He cut himself off. "That's great! Thank you! Um, sir!" Link and Linebeck shook hands. "I can totally start right now, Mr. Linebeck!"

Linebeck took a pipe from the top shelf and began tamping tobacco into it. He made a disapproving noise. "If you MUST . . . call me captain. And salute, why don't you?"

Link thought that was silly, but he complied.

Linebeck shook his head. "That was the sorriest salute I've ever seen. No matter! You'll get better." He started walking to the door.

"So what am I supposed to do here?" Link asked, following him. He wondered if they'd be repairing the ship parts in the yard, and began to get excited.

Linebeck stopped short, and Link almost ran into him. "Where are you going?"

"Following you, sir. Captain."

Linebeck shook his head. "Don't get ahead of yourself, swabbie. Only experts get to work on the ships."

Link's shoulders slumped. "So . . . what am I supposed to do?"

"Clean the shop!"

"Clean the . . . shop?"

"Yes! It's downright DRABBY in here! Cobwebs, bad paint, and I smell a dead rat."

 _It's not my fault you've let it get this bad_ , Link couldn't help but think, but said nothing. He fought to keep his mouth in a straight line. _I don't want to do housework!_

"You'll find tools in the shed. Well! I expect this place to be spic and span when I get back!"

"Where are you going?"

Linebeck paused in the doorway. "Looking for _treasure_ , my lad." He closed the door, leaving Link to wonder at what he meant.

 _There's no treasure in Hyrule_ . . . He already knew what Linebeck would have to say about that. "You KNOOOOOW this, DOOOO YOOOU?" he mocked, grabbing a nearby broom.

* * *

Everyone was staring at him, Sheik felt. Was it really so weird for him to suddenly show up back at school the day of tests? He'd been studying, after all. He looked to his right. Groose was the only one not stealing glances at him, completely absorbed in finishing this test, even with almost cross-eyed determination. Groose was responsible for Sheik being here. He'd shown up this morning at Sheik's estate.

"Hey, Zelda, we've got tests today, you've gotta come to school!"

Sheik had been comfortably and tragically flopped his bed. "What's the point? I'll just fail them."

Groose put his hands on his hips. "You're telling me that YOU, the PRINCESS OF HYRULE, haven't studied?"

Sheik blushed. Of course he'd studied. He didn't know how NOT to study. He got up. "Fiiiiine!"

Groose grinned, pleased with himself. "I know you'll pass with flying colors!"

So here they were.

School was as lonely as Sheik had thought, though. Midna and Nabooru weren't in this class, and Link hadn't shown up. The only person he really knew and could trust, even among all the teachers, was Groose.

Groose sat hunched over his seat, looking altogether too big for his chair. They sat at the same table, next to each other, and Groose's left hand was on the table, framing his work. Sheik felt a smile break across his face. Just a small one, a comfortable one. He reached his right hand over, and placed it on top of Groose's.

The tip of Groose's pencil broke off. He froze. Sheik went back to working on his test, as though nothing had changed. Groose remained frozen, thinking if he moved or said the wrong thing, he'd wake up. A creeping blush covered every inch of his exposed skin. His hand twitched, and finally he adjusted it so he could squeeze Sheik's hand back.

Now Sheik blushed. He bit his lower lip and glanced at Groose, who was still too bashful to look at him.

Sheik's smile grew.

The classroom door burst open, and a disheveled Link appeared. He clomped loudly between the tables and found his seat next to Sheik.

"Link!" called the teacher. "You made it."

Link bowed. "Sorry, Mr. Gaepora. I was kept really late last night at work."

Mr. Gaepora nodded, and handed Link a test. "Well you still have thirty minutes to take the test. Let me know if you need extra time."

"Gee, thanks, sir!" Link took the test and sat down, beginning immediately.

"I know you're a good student, Link."

Link's face flushed. "R-really?" He trailed off as he muttered, "Nobody's ever said that to me before . . ."

Sheik elbowed him. "Welcome to nerd-dom, Link!"

Link grinned. Then his eyes fell as if drawn to Sheik and Groose's hands. Link looked at Groose. Groose grinned victoriously back. Link looked at Sheik. Sheik shrugged, a coy grin on his face.

Suddenly, Link's good mood was shattered.

"What's wrong, Link?" Sheik asked, concerned.

"Nothing. It's just . . ." Why was he suddenly thinking about Shad?! "Must have eaten something weird for breakfast." He bent over his test and said nothing more.

"O . . . kay . . ." Sheik responded, unconvinced, but not willing to pry.

SSS

Shadow and Vio were walking along in the park, holding hands. It was something Shadow had decided he liked—holding hands. And Vio hardly complained.

"I'm sorry I kept things from you," Vio muttered for the eleventh time, still not sounding sorry.

"Yeah, well," Shadow answered, also for the eleventh time, "I can't believe you have a _lab!_ "

"I'm sorry . . ."

"Will you show me?"

"NO. I mean . . ." Vio suddenly gripped his hand very tightly. "It's . . . private."

"Well, yeaaaaaah . . ." Shadow hurried up two steps and turned to face Vio. They both paused in their stride. "But I'm your boyfriend!" Shadow said, coming up on his toes slightly. "And you need to make it up to me."

Vio wouldn't meet his eyes. "Don't you have school to go to?"

"Same as you. Why aren't you there?"

Vio lifted his chin pompously. "I took the exams early, so Blue would get off my case about not going to school."

Shadow was impressed. "Wow, so you barely went to school and you still passed?"

"Perfect marks."

Shadow grinned. "You're really smart!"

"Yes. You need to go to school."

"No. You're just trying to distract me from wanting to go to your lab!" Vio squirmed, and Shadow laughed. "Give it up, Vio! I never forget! Take me, take meeeeeeee!" He pulled on Vio's arm insistently.

Vio sighed. "Maybe later."

Shadow dropped Vio's hand and folded his arms.

Vio knew he'd messed up immediately. "What—wait, I—"

But Shadow was already storming off.

Vio ran after him and wrapped his arms around his waist, pulling him back against his chest. "Don't leave," he said into his ear.

"Why should I stay?" Shadow asked, reasonably.

"It's not that I don't _want_ to . . ." Vio began to lie.

"Yes it is."

 _Damn._ He buried his nose in Shadow's hair. "It's not so easy! The others don't know about it."

"All the more reason to go when they're at school and work, right?"

Vio thought about lying, saying Blue wasn't working today. He decided against it. Shadow would catch him, anyways, and history had proven Shadow got really mad when he was lied to. Finally, he forced out, "I just don't want to. I'm not ready to show you."

He felt Shadow sigh. He let him go and Shadow took a step away and turned to look at him. His eyes were shiny. "Maybe . . . maybe in the future? Sometime?"

Vio was racked with guilt. _Guilt? What is this? Why do you make me feel this way?_ He didn't care about _anybody_. I mean even when he claimed he did, he felt nothing. Feeling "bad" was something you did, not something you felt.

Shadow grabbed his hand, a jolt racing through Vio. "Don't worry about it," Shadow said. "I don't want you to do something you're not ready for, but I'm sad that you don't trust me yet."

 _Trust him . . ._ He trusted nobody. And yet, he didn't know why not, in Shadow's case. As Shadow began to lead him up the sidewalk, Vio began to think. _Why don't I trust him? Shadow's never lied to me. He's never given me a reason not to trust him. He really knows me—I can't even lie anymore without him guessing at my reasons! Correctly!_ He stared at the back of Shadow's head. _Vio, if you're going to trust somebody, now's the time to do it! He's been with you this long, watched you, and knows you. He's either trustworthy or he's not. You either trust him or you don't. Make a decision!_

"Oh my gosh!" Shadow cried out, letting go of Vio's hand and running to a bush. He knelt down, looking at something. "Vio, come here quick!"

Vio did so, and crouched down next to Shadow. Next to the bush was a cardboard box. Inside was a kitten, or a small cat, mewling painfully. One of its legs was bent at a strange angle, and its fur was matted with blood.

Shadow had a hand over his mouth, but he let go long enough to clench his fists and exclaim, "Some bastard left it out here to die!"

Vio glanced at Shadow, noting the anger in his voice. He was trying to grasp why it was so important that somebody had abandoned the cat. Vio himself didn't care, but Shadow did . . . so he tried to care, too. He tried to connect to that part of him that maybe cared. Shadow's anger stirred something in himself. "Let me see," Vio offered.

Shadow scooted just slightly, reaching in to pet the kitten's head. "Poor baby . . . do you know if there's a vet nearby?"

Vio shook his head. "They'll just euthanize him," he said bluntly. Shadow gasped. _Should have put that more nicely . . . or should I have?_ Now he was just confused.

"We can't just LEAVE him here!" Shadow reached in and carefully moved the kitten's legs around. "It's just that one leg. Oh, wait—" He accidentally brushed fingers across a gash on the kitten's belly that hadn't been visible before. "Oh, I'm sorry!"

The kitten yowled, but then its voice dropped out because it was in so much pain and its face just contorted in a silent yowl.

Vio couldn't help it. He turned away and burst out laughing.

Shadow was flabbergasted. "What's so funny?"

 _Oh God, stop . . . stop!_ Vio covered his mouth, but there was nothing he could do to stop the laughing. It was just . . . it was _funny_. He held his breath, which took care of most of the laughs, but there was nothing he could do about the tears of laughter streaming down his face.

"What is WRONG with you?!"

The disgust in Shadow's voice sent Vio's brain into overdrive. _I laugh when I'm upset! I'm actually really crying!_ He thought up those and many other lies. _No . . . don't lie. DON'T LIE, Vio!_ He could never fake caring for an animal, even if he convinced Shadow that he really did laugh when he was upset.

He didn't laugh when he was upset.

And, more than that . . . he didn't want to lie. _I want him to see me for me. I want him to like ME! How do I fix this?!_ He turned back around and leaned over the box. "It looks fixable," he said.

"What?" Shadow was having a hard time keeping up with the Vio's changing attitudes.

"I think I can fix him. Make him better. But we'll have to carry him to my house." He got the box into his arms and stood up.

"You're going to save him?" Shadow glanced at him hopefully, trustingly, adoringly. "Can you do that?"

"Yeah." _No lying_. "Maybe."

"But how?"

Vio looked deep into Shadow's eyes, then said, "You wanted to see my lab, right?"

Shadow's eyes brightened, and he smiled. "That's right! You have a lab!"

"We should hurry."

* * *

Shadow's heart was pounding the entire surgery. He was worried about the kitten, but also, DANG! Vio was kind of hot. I mean he was putting a kitten back together for goodness sake.

Vio was leaning over his operating table, wearing a purple lab coat, of all things, and a mask. His concentration was unbreakable. If Shadow asked a question, Vio answered without skipping a beat.

It took who knows how many hours to set the leg, clean the wounds, and stitch everything up, but eventually Vio began carefully bandaging the kitten up.

Shadow had helped hold the kitten and hand Vio instruments he needed. Vio had an extra purple lab coat for him, too. After the first few hours, Vio had said he no longer needed Shadow's assistance, so Shadow had wandered away.

Vio's lab was hidden in the abandoned basement of the house he and his foster brothers lived in. Nobody knew about it. There were fluorescent lights installed in the ceiling, and the walls were unfinished, brick showing through. In some places dirt showed through. There were tables and metal drawers and cabinets, file folders. On the tables and metal shelves were canisters with labels, and jars with unidentifiable objects inside. Most of them seemed to be plants.

"Finished!" Vio called from the operating table.

Shadow turned around. "Is he going to be alright?"

Vio nodded. "I think so . . ." With Shadow's instruction, they wrapped the kitten in a blanket and set him in a basket on top of a pillow, making sure he was situated comfortably, but also so there was no stress on his leg or the stitches in his stomach.

"Aaw, he's so cute!" Shadow was saying. Vio wasn't staring at the cat. He was staring at Shadow, who was very cute when he was looking at the kitten. After a few moments, Shadow stood up and looked around. "So . . . this is your lab, huh?"

Vio nodded, feeling a strange heat on his cheeks. "It's not much, but . . ."

"It's like Frankenstein met my dad down here!"

Vio wasn't sure if that was a compliment or simply a statement of fact.

Shadow went looking around at all of the chemistry sets set up on one table. He turned to Vio, a vulnerable expression on his face. "You don't test on animals, do you?"

Vio pulled the mask off of his face. "It's illegal."

Shadow nodded and went back to looking around.

"But I do."

Shadow froze. "Why?" He asked simply.

 _How do I explain it_. "I mean . . . they're usually dead . . . well, not all the time . . ."

Shadow covered his ears. "Vio, Vio _why?_ "

Vio walked over to him carefully, wringing his hands. "You really care about animals, don't you?"

"Yes! That's why I'm vegan! How could you test on _animals_ , Vio? Why?!" Vio tried to put a hand on Shadow's arm, but Shadow flinched. "Why did you save that kitten, then?" Shadow gestured madly at the basket. "Why'd you go through the trouble? To impress ME? You didn't care about that kitten at all, did you?"

"Well, no—"

"Then WHY? WHY VIO?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" Vio yelled.

Shadow was taken aback.

Vio leaned his back against a wall and sank to the ground, with his knees up, hands in his hair. "I don't know why I'm this way, I just am!"

"What do you . . . what do you mean?" Now it was Shadow's turn to join Vio on the ground.

"I don't know why I don't care, I just don't. I don't care about people, I don't care about animals, I just don't care! All I care about is my research, and entertaining myself, and I don't know why!"

"You don't care about people?"

"PEOPLE HURT YOU!" Vio was more upset than he'd ever felt. He'd never shown anyone his lab, never told anybody any of this stuff. "They don't want to see me, they don't want to see who I am. But what they don't get is I DON'T LIKE MYSELF!" He covered his eyes and ears. He held his breath, trying to stay in control. After several minutes, he opened his eyes and uncovered his ears.

Shadow was still there.

Vio hadn't realized, but he had expected Shadow to leave. That's why he'd closed his eyes and covered his ears. He didn't want to see Shadow leave, didn't want to hear him close the door. But he hadn't. He was still here. "You're . . . you're still here."

"Do you . . ." Shadow began, "Do you care about me?" He put a handon Vio's knee.

Vio looked away. "I . . . I _want_ you."

"Okay," Shadow said, a little amused, "So you're attracted to me, but that's not the same thing. Do you _care?_ If I were to die tomorrow, would you cry?"

"Yes."

"So you _do_ care."

"I'd cry for myself, being without you. I wouldn't cry that you were dead." The room felt freezing.

Shadow seemed blown away. He stood up and stepped away, apparently thinking very hard.

Vio almost didn't say it. At first he was afraid it was another lie, but as he pushed it around his mouth he became convinced it had to be true. The tiniest of whispers escaped his mouth, "I want to . . ."

"Excuse me?" Shadow asked, turning to look at him again.

"I don't like being this way," Vio revealed. "I . . . I _want_ to care about you. I want to care about Red, and Green, and Blue. I act like I do, sometimes, because I want to. I know I'm supposed to, and I really REALLY want to. I just don't." He shrank into himself. "I've never told this to anybody."

". . . Why not?"

"They'd hate me."

Vio heard Shadow take more steps. They were toward him, then he heard Shadow crouch down again. Vio dared to look up.

Shadow was smiling at him. _What? Why? Why are you smiling at me?! Are you an idiot? Are you like me? Are you bad?_

No. None of those things. He was smart enough to realize it was like caring for people—he just wouldn't ever understand any of that.

"I think I understand," Shadow said.

Vio came slightly out of his shell. "You . . . do?"

Shadow nodded thoughtfully. "I mean, if you don't even like yourself, then you can't like other people, or other animals."

"But you don't understand, I—"

"But that's not your problem."

Vio shut up.

"Your problem is that you don't care," Shadow continued. "You CAN'T like yourself, because that requires being able to feel . . . Vio, are you broken?"

Suddenly sniffing, Vio replied, "I think so. I just don't feel good things about people. Or bad things. Just nothing at all."

"That's gotta be scary."

Vio thought about it, and at first it annoyed him, but the longer he thought about it, the more he thought Shadow was right. He _was_ scared. Everyone else seemed to have this magical thing called 'caring' to guide them through life, to keep them out of trouble, to get friends and keep them, to have lovers . . . he didn't have that. He didn't even know what that was. He knew how to be nice, but not for the sake of being nice. He knew how to say 'I love you,' but not for the sake of being in love. Where did people get that from?

"Well . . . I think you DO want to be better," Shadow concluded. "And that tells me . . . you care more than most."

"Excuse me?" Vio completely deadpanned.

Shadow chuckled. "Hear me out. Most people care because if they do something bad, they FEEL bad, and that's why they don't do things that most consider 'bad.' It's not really because they care, they just don't want to feel bad."

"Is feeling bad really so . . . bad?"

Shadow nodded. "Yeah. I mean sometimes even doing the right thing can feel bad, so sometimes people will do the wrong thing to avoid feeling bad."

"I didn't realize it was so complicated for people who aren't like me, too."

"Yeah, it kinda sucks! But what I meant before was, you don't even know what it's like to feel good. You've got no motivation for being good. And yet . . . you're good."

Vio lifted his head. "I am?"

"Well, you've never murdered anyone, have you?"

"No . . ."

"You tortured animals, okay, that's bad. That's REALLY REALLY bad, but even though you don't feel BAD about it, you know it's wrong. I think that's amazing."

Vio was starting to feel something burning in his chest. "You do?"

"Yeah."

Vio leaned forward. "I'll never do it again! I swear, I SWEAR! I'll never hurt another animal for as long as I live, Shadow!"

"See?" Shadow said. "You really want to be good, Vio, you just don't really have a moral compass in the form of feelings. You have to go by what other people do and say and think is normal. You've done a great job."

 _I'm good! I'm not bad!_ _I'm good! Shadow thinks I'm good! Shadow's . . . still here_. Vio launched forward and threw his arms around Shadow, hugging him fiercely. "You . . . you . . ."

Shadow hugged him back.

"I don't wanna be like this anymore!" Vio sobbed. "You understand . . . You understand me! I don't wanna BE like this anymore!"

"I'm here, Vio, don't worry. I won't leave you behind. You just got to trust me, okay? You're going to be just fine."

 _Trust him. Yes. Trust him!_ "I do. I do trust you, Shadow! You're the first person who's ever understood me. Red sort of does, but not all the way. I feel like I can actually call you . . . my friend!"

He could hear the smirk in Shadow's voice. "Just a friend, huh?"

Vio pulled back so he could look at him. "Baby steps."

"Okay. Baby steps. Wait. So we were already friends, and then boyfriends, but you don't know if you care about me, and now I'm your friend again, like do you mean . . . emotionally?"

Vio nodded.

"You can feel that? That's great! So I'm you're emotional friend." Shadow grinned. "Alright then!"

"I want you to be my emotional boyfriend, too. I want you to be with me forever."

Shadow's heart began to flutter. "Oh. Forever? Wow."

Vio placed his hands on either side of Shadow's face and bumped foreheads with him. " _Forever_."

This was one of those moments. Those times Vaati was talking about, when you're close to someone and . . . you know, stuff! Feelings. Hotness. Other things. "I don't know if I'm ready for that," Shadow said thickly.

"That's okay," Vio answered, Shadow following his mouth's every move, "But that's what I want."

Shadow gulped.


	39. Chapter 39

AN: New chapter, in which we learn more about Hyrule's racism problem . . .

I got two new followers this week! Thanks you two!

Thanks for favoriting, following, reading, everything :)

Everyone, please let me know what you think!

* * *

Chapter 39

 _Crash!_

"Link! What did I tell you? Don't carry more than you can handle!"

"Sorry, Ciela . . ." Link was placing tools on a top shelf, using a ladder. He had been using a tray to carry lots of tools up the small ladder, and got overconfident. Now those tools lay all over the floor . . . and some of them looked broken. _Argh_. He stepped down from the ladder and knelt on the floor, picking up the tools and carrying them to the front counter to inspect.

The tiniest lady Link had ever seen sat on the counter, wearing a frilly cream-colored dress, complete with a cream-colored parasol held over one shoulder. She had a round face, big down turned hazel eyes, and toe-blond hair pulled up in two ponytails. She dressed young, but behaved so much like an adult that only a fool would mistake her for a child.

And if Link wasn't seeing things, her whole body had a kind of glow.

Ciela was Linebeck's assistant manager. He'd met her on his first day of work. Apparently Linebeck spent most of the week at his post by the ocean, leaving Ciela to do his dirty work here. She was a fan of makeup. Today, she wore exaggerated eyeliner, triangles underneath her eyes, and gold shimmer on her cheeks. Her brown eyelashes were also long and fake looking, but not in a bad way.

The eyeliner mostly covered the tattooed numbers underneath her left eye, but not completely. Link still hadn't had the guts to ask about those.

"You better not have broken anything!" Ciela was saying. "It'll have to come out of your paycheck."

"I know, Ciela," Link replied despondently, arranging the tools from Not Broken At All to Useless.

He heard Ciela sigh. "You know I'll cover for you. _Again_. But really, Link, you should just listen to me!" She jumped off the counter and put her hands on her hips, glaring at him. "I thought Darunia said you were a good listener!"

"Yeah, but he also said it's hard for me to focus." H began fiddling with a hinge on one of the broken tools. "By the way, why are these tools so fragile?"

Ciela rolled her eyes. _Lack of focus? You got that right!_ She stood next to Link and set her elbows on the counter. "Those are weather gauges. With a little magic, they can tell you the weather of the place you're headed to, up to two hundred miles away! It's great for avoiding turbulent waters."

"Magic?" Link asked. The only magic he knew of was Sheik's, and whatever had been in Ganondorf's basement.

Ciela nodded. She scowled at the instruments. "Although, that type of magic is forbidden in Hyrule, so Linebeck has to deport them to other parts of the world to sell them at full price. Right now they're pretty much useless!" She shrugged with her hands and walked back to do whatever she'd been doing before Link messed up again. "Right now all they do is tell you the temperature . . ."

Link inspected the device. _Magic . . ._ He looked after Ciela. "Wait! But . . . why is this magic forbidden?"

Ciela paused, and all Link could see was the bottom half of her dress, and her feet. The upper half was hidden by her parasol. She flipped half around, her blond ponytails bouncing along. Her face held a haunting look that gave Link shivers. "Because," she said, "It's _fairy magic._ "

"Fairy magic." Link, in his surprise, suddenly crushed the tool he held in his hands. _Oops!_ "You mean fairies are _real?_ "

"What do you think _I_ am?"

"You're a fairy?!"

Ciela nodded, looking exasperated. "What DO they teach in schools, these days?"

"They taught the fairies abandoned Hyrule decades ago, and nobody's seen them since."

"Hmph!" Ciela looked genuinely pissed off. She twirled her parasol. "Well let me tell you the story, Hylian!" She pointed at Link, almost accusingly. Link pointed at himself, feeling guilty for no reason. Ciela stopped herself, took a deep breath, then pulled herself up onto the counter again. "A few hundred years ago, there were lots of fairies. I mean, only a few actually believed in us, but that didn't matter. We didn't have a land, or a kingdom, just our magic. You could find us in every corner of Hyrule. We had Great Fairies, our version of leaders, but we were still quite free to join any country, job, or experience we wanted to." She sighed. "The monarchies of Hyrule were always jealous of our autonomy. Hylians, Zoras . . . even the Gorons. They were afraid of us, I guess. Thought we were holding out on them, being selfish with our magic or whatever." She rolled her eyes. "As if we _owed_ it to the world to sacrifice ourselves and our magic for everyone else! We started being used as objects, kept in bottles-"

"Kept in bottles?" Link asked dumbly, looking at the giant fairy in front of him.

She stuck her tongue out at him, then chuckled. "We're not always this big!"

Link smirked, and nodded. He decided to sit on the counter as well. He listened intently.

"So anyway," Ciela continued, her hands grappling the handle of her parasol fiercely, "People started to abuse us. They'd refuse to work with us unless we did them deeds. A lot of times we didn't like them, so we refused." Her countenance fell. "That's when things started getting really bad. When Hyruleans found out that fairies weren't going to help them out anymore—not without rights, anyway—they got angry. They closed their doors to us, spat at us, swatted at us, and drove us out of Hyrule. Well, most of us. A lot of us didn't escape." Setting her parasol aside, she pulled out her purse and rummaged through it for a cotton wipe and makeup remover. She started wiping the makeup off of the left side of her face by her eye. "Fairy magic was outlawed unless sanctioned by the king of Hyrule, and spells were placed that would seriously harm us if we were caught using it." She shivered. "The guards were ruthless in the old days. You had to do _everything_ they wanted, even if it was illegal or wrong, or else they'd . . . they'd use the spell against you."

"That's horrible," Link said, wide-eyed.

Ciela nodded. "Since we couldn't use our magic, and we weren't allowed to leave Hyrule, those of us that didn't make it out were forced to stay and find work—non-magical work. I can tell you, no one wants to hire a fairy, not anymore. Bad for business, they say, fairies are lying, thieving, . . . etcetera. And we were. Because we had to be. No one would give us jobs, so we stole and cheated to survive."

"But how did people know you were fairies? I didn't notice."

"PFFFT!" Ciela burst out laughing. "You didn't even know we were real until today! Hahahaha!" She wiped the tears from her eyes, and then said, "But you're right, it CAN be hard to tell. We look a lot like Hylians, so . . . that's where the registration came in."

Link had the sickest feeling in his stomach. "Registration?"

Ciela nodded. "If we wanted to work in Hyrule, we had to register ourselves in the Fairy Collection Agency of Hyrule. Otherwise we'd be arrested . . . and forced to register anyway. That is, if we ever made it out of jail to begin with."

She turned to Link with a now makeup-less left eye. The inartistic, crudely tattooed numbers sat right under her eye socket, like a glaring blemish to her face: 179463.

"That . . . they did that to you?" Link asked, breathless.

Ciela nodded. "That's my registration number. That's how everyone knows I'm a fairy. It's spelled so I can't hide it with my own magic, and I can only do so much with makeup."

Link was trying to wrap his mind around the stupidity of it. "So . . . so . . ." He gripped the counter tightly. "You couldn't get out, so they MADE you tattoo numbers ON YOUR FACE?! And you can't use your magic, you can't . . ."

"Be myself? Nope." She returned her items to her purse and scooched off the counter. "I'm lucky, though. I have a passport because of Linebeck. As long as I'm working for him, I can leave the city. Go to the islands and stuff. Other fairies aren't as lucky."

Link's eyebrows knitted together. "Don't you want to get out of here?"

A lost look crossed Ciela's features. She tried to shrug it off, but even Link could tell it was a lame attempt. "There's nowhere for me to go. Nowhere in the world. I guess maybe there's a place, a small place, with just fairies . . . but who wants to be cooped up in one place their entire life?" She glanced at a painting on the wall, one of a ship on the sea. "I want to travel the world, and I've already got the marks. Other fairies . . ." She hunched her shoulders, as if embarrassed. As if ashamed. "I wouldn't fit in there." She brought a hand up to cover the numbers on her face.

"I understand," Link said.

Ciela gave him a disbelieving look.

Link realized he'd said something probably REALLY insensitive. He waved his hands dismissively. "I mean, not me exactly, but . . . I have a sister." He held his hands in his lap and twiddled his thumbs. "She has autism, and it keeps her from being like other kids."

"Oh," Ciela responded, with surprise and a little understanding.

"People treat her differently," Link continued. "Sometimes . . . they call her awful names, stupid and spoiled and brat, like you were saying. Like they just treat her _awful_ , for no reason than she's different, and it makes me _so angry._ I'm always trying to protect her, but I don't want her to have to stay cooped up in the house all the time." His voice became very quiet. "Sometimes they say they'd like to hit her, saying that would make her 'behave' and make her 'get over' her autism, as if she doesn't have a freaking condition!" His voice had raised, and his adrenaline was starting to pump. He forced all his extra energy to his fists, which he then relaxed. He pushed his hair behind one ear. "There's nothing wrong with her. She's not sick, and she's NOT a brat! I guess what I'm saying is, not that I understand or anything, but that I care? I want people to be kind to others when they're different, and not be jealous or mean. I really angry for you . . ." He finally looked at her. She was looking directly back, a soft look on her face. "And," he continued, "I'm sorry."

One side of her mouth turned up, not in a mocking or flippant way. "Well," she said. "I appreciate that. You seem like a decent guy, Link." She got back onto the counter, next to Link, closed her parasol and kicked her legs under the counter. "I'm sorry people are rude to your sister. You really care about her, huh?"

Link nodded, smiling.

"So where do you want to take her?"

Link's smile turned into an excited grin. "I want to take her onto the ocean! When I was working with Darunia, we went to the ocean once, and we grew up on the ocean, and . . . she'd like it. I'd love to show her all the different places in the world. I want to show her everything! I want her to have everything every person _should_ have. Adventure, fun . . ."

"Well you're in the right business!" Ciela responded brightly. "Linebeck and I go out on the ocean all the time."

Link's eyes practically sparkled as he gazed at her. "Do you think he'll teach me how to handle a ship one day?"

Ciela grimaced. "I'm not sure, he's super territorial about the ocean . . ." A sly grin grew across her face. "But I'll see what I can do for ya!"

"Gee, thanks! You're awesome, Ciela!"

She winked. "No problem."

* * *

Shadow and Vio sat next to each other in a booth at the Milk Bar, about a foot apart. Vio looked like he'd swallowed a toad. He rested his chin in his hand, tapping his face with irritated fingers. He was not looking at Shadow. Shadow was staring at the table, hands in his lap, eyebrows knit together worryingly.

"I'm sorry," Shadow said finally.

"You have nothing to be sorry about," Vio replied, sounding tense as a diving board.

"I know, but I'm still sorry."

"It's fine."

"You sound mad."

Vio threw his hands in the air and replied angrily, "I'm not mad!" Vio knew if he looked Shadow would have puppy dog eyes, but he couldn't help it and looked. He hunched his shoulders abashedly and folded his arms. "It's just . . . I really REALLY wanna kiss you!"

"We kiss when we're drunk," Shadow tried.

"That doesn't count!" Vio whined. "You have NO IDEA." Shadow knew what he meant. Being a foster kid, Vio had seen a lot. There were a lot more places for his imagination to take him than Shadow's. Some memories were not so pleasant, but that didn't change the fact that Vio had the thoughts now. Being a foster kid sucked, made you grow up faster than you should so even when you WERE older everything was confusing. "I want you to kiss me when you're sober." Vio held his hands out in front of him. "I want to hold your _naked body_ in my arms, I want—" He twisted in his seat and got right into Shadow's face, one hand palm down on the table in front of him as he said, intensely, "I want to teach you everything I know."

Shadow flushed scarlet. It was true. They hadn't kissed that night, or any night or day, really. Except those couple times they got drunk and . . . forgot everything. He shifted his eyes away. "I'm sorry, I'm not ready."

Vio backed off and buried his head in his arms on the table. "I know."

"You can't blame me," Shadow said, sounding considerably less guilty now. He resettled in his seat. "I mean you JUST told me you didn't care about me, even though we were supposedly boyfriends. Why would I want to kiss someone who doesn't care about me?"

"I care about you as a friend!"

"But not as a boyfriend."

Vio lifted his head. "Friends with benefits is a thing!"

"Not when it matters." Seeing Vio's glum expression, Shadow continued, "Look, I understand this is hard for you, but you don't even know if you CAN love me. I don't really like the idea of _soberly_ making out with somebody who only considers me an emotional friend. You see?"

Vio's eyes had peeked over his arms, but they were looking across the bar. He mumbled into his arms, "Yes. I just don't understand why you're not as horny as I am."

"Hmph! Maybe I am and just have better self control!"

Vio's look of utter consternation was worth the quip. Shadow smirked evilly.

And Vio said, "You kissed me when you were drunk and we weren't even friends then."

Shadow deadpanned. "Doesn't count unless you're sober, didn't you say that?"

Vio cursed.

* * *

After a moment, a new waitress came to refill their drinks. To Shadow's surprise, it was Malon! "Well hey-ho! What a surprise!" She said with a crinkle of her nose and a great big smile.

"Hey Malon!" Shadow said brightly, leaning forward. "I didn't know you worked here . . . How are you working here if you're a minor?"

Malon sighed roughly. "My uncle's makin' me work, that's how. He don't care about age or nothin'. Says until my Dad gets out of jail I have to help 'im run the place or he'll throw me on the street. I had to go live with 'im now Dad's gone. He's workin' me right out of my brains!"

Shadow and Vio glanced at the man behind the counter, with the big nose, skinny head, the ridiculous mustache and bald spots on the top of his head. "Ingo?"

Malon nodded.

"What an asshole," Shadow bit out. Then he remembered his manners. "Oh! Vio, this is Malon. We have the same physical therapist. Malon, this is my . . . uh, this is Vio." It actually made him sad to not include 'boyfriend' in that sentence.

"Oh, right? THE Vio? Nice ta meetcha!" She shook Vio's hand.

"Pleasure's mine," replied Vio.

"So what can I get you folks?"

Shadow grinned. "We're gonna both have the veggie burger and some sweet potato fries." He absolutely beamed. "Vio says he's gonna become vegan for me, so I'm showing him all the cool foods he can get."

A tiny smile crossed Vio's otherwise serious expression. Malon noticed, but didn't say anything about it. "Good for you, Vio! I'm a vegetarian myself." She blanched as she wrote on her notepad. "Never could eat anything with a face. Guess that comes from growin' up on a ranch!"

"I know, right?" Shadow responded. He sent a glance to the sky. "I can't believe I _ever_ ate animals!"

"But you don't even eat cheese or milk or stuff made by animals, right?"

"They're not made BY animals," Shadow corrected. "They're made my humans taking advantage of animals! Well, usually. But you're a rancher, what's that like?"

Malon shrugged. "The cows always seem to like when I milk 'em, and the cuccos don't seem to miss their eggs, so I don't see the harm."

"I can respect that. You love your animals."

She grinned. "Yes, I do!" She bent over the table conspiratorially. "Didja hear about the Romani Ranch controversy, though?"

Shadow shook his head and leaned forward again, ears intent.

"A brave soul recorded how they run things. They claim to be super humane to the animals, but the video completely exposes them! Cuccos chicks gettin' their beaks sawed off, cows kept in filthy pens and fed their own manure. It's awful!"

Shadow pounded on the table. "Bastards! I trusted them! I buy their vegetables!"

Malon nodded in fierce agreement.

Vio wondered what on earth the big deal was and his mind drifted off.

"Somebody should picket them," Shadow said.

"Yeah," Malon replied, "like, Hyrule for Animals or somethin'. But they're busy takin' down all of your dad's businesses now he's in jail."

They sighed collectively. Then Shadow had an idea. "Hey . . . why can't WE do something about it?

Vio straightened. "Wait, what?"

Malon drew in a rush of air. "Oh my butterfingers, that's a fantabulous idea, Shadow!"

Shadow stood up excitedly. "Yeah! We can make signs and throw rotten vegetables!"

"I can make us bandannas and such to wear so they know who we are!"

"This is gonna be AWESOME!"

"This is gonna be GREAT!"

They gave each other a hand clasp and nodded their heads. Vio thought it a monumental waste of time. _Try to care, try to care . . . about . . . animals . . ._

Then Shadow turned to Vio, as if remembering something. "You're gonna come, right?"

 _How can I say no to that face?_ Besides, causing public unrest was always fun. Getting into trouble with Shadow was even more fun. He adjusted his glasses and quirked an eyebrow. "Of course. Let's get the bastards!"

Malon and Shadow cheered.


	40. Chapter 40

AN: Oh wow! So many followers/favorites and reviews this chapter! You've all made me so happy!

I'll answer the reviews privately except for the guest ones, because the only way to reply is here.

ROFLCOPTER: Hahaha, yup, that about sums it up, right? Although I like to think of Krad as less annoying than Jar Jar Binks xD

Guest: Sheik is still Sheik, a boy, it's just that the people around him tend to not accept his gender identity and still call him "Zelda." Also because of pressure from his father, he's currently seriously considering pretending to be a girl, which is going to be VERY BAD for him. Why Groose calls him Zelda even though he mostly understands that Sheik is male will be explained in a later chapter :)

TRIGGER WARNING: Sorry, but with certain topics I believe in warnings. Don't like it, skip the warning! Easy! This chapter has a few rapey situations. I needed to show how bad it is for Gerudos since Ganondorf's arrest was so publicized. And yes there is a parallel to how Muslims and other minorities are treated in today's society. Creating analogies for real-world issues is what this story is about! With that said, no rapes occur as this is also a story about HEROES ;)

If you or anyone you know has been in a situation similar to this, please get help. IF there is none, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-4673. Just remember it's not your fault.

/end warning

THANK YOU SO MUCH! I'm so happy my story is being enjoyed so well. I even appreciate those of you who don't say anything but just follow the story. Heck, I like those of you who just read this and I don't even know it.

Without further ado, next chapter!

* * *

Chapter 40:

Suggested soundtrack: Stressed Out by Twenty-One Pilots

Midna scoured the grocery store shelves. _Go on a diet, they said!_ She rolled her eyes as she picked up every brand of spaghetti sauce in turn and read the labels, hoping beyond hope one of them didn't contain too much of the ingredients the council had put on her Restricted Food list.

She sniffed. _I'll bet mommy never would have made me do this. Mommy was big and beautiful!_ It wasn't often Midna thought of her parents anymore. When the Great Rift happened, she had just been a child. She was trapped over here, in Hyrule, and her parents were trapped in the Twilight Realm. Once a year a Twili would get to go home, or come here. Every year Midna went to the Twilight Mirror in hopes that she would be picked to go to the Twilight Realm to be with them, or else that one of them would show up. She had thought for sure since they were royalty that they'd be able to assign themselves . . . but according to the council's whispers, there was utter chaos in the Twilight Realm, coups and rebellions. She wasn't even sure if her parents were still alive, and didn't know if she'd recognize them . . .

The inability to know the truth made her hands shake, and she slammed the can of spaghetti sauce back on the shelf. She scowled, baring her sharp teeth. She stood up tall and held her nose high. _Don't think like that! Of course they're alive! And one day they're going to come over here and find you, and you'll be a happy family, and the council won't be able to touch you!_

She walked out of the aisle, spaghetti sauce-less.

Her stomach growled, and she whined into the air, some passersby giving her funny looks. _Maybe I'll just slip on over to the deli and get some REAL food for a change!_ She still had some money left over from mowing lawns that the council hadn't confiscated, so she hurried to the deli gleefully.

Once she got there, she looked over all the hams and the meats and the cheeses, the pasta salads and the fried foods.

 _Mmmm, fried chicken!_

She got her chicken, and paid for it there, and was about to escape the grocery store and go outside to eat when someone at the deli tables caught her eye. Another teenage girl, a Hylian, was sitting at a round table, one leg with a plastic boot on it which she kept elevated on another chair. A shopping cart sat next. It looked like the girl was having a rest, or eating like Midna was doing since there were containers on the table next to her. Right now she was looking at her phone, scrolling through something with her thumb.

This girl was gorgeous.

No, seriously, like _drop dead gorgeous!_

She had flaming red hair, the red kind, not the orange kind like Midna's. It was thick and voluminous, growing past her shoulders and to her mid back in countless layers. Her skin was pale white, without a single freckle or blemish or even a beauty mark. Her face was in profile, and her nose swooped down to the cutest little upturn at the end, and underneath that sparkly nose were the fullest, reddest lips Midna had ever seen. She wore a button-up white blouse with ruffles on the collar and at the end of the slightly puffed sleeves. Even though she was slouching due to having her leg propped up, it did little to diminish the size of her bust. She was shapely, from her shoulders to her booted feet.

Midna abandoned her shopping basket, taking only her box of chicken with her as she swooped into the seat opposite the girl and trailed a finger on the table. "Helloooooooooooo~"

The girl looked up. She had beautiful blue eyes. They weren't full of lines and didn't have dark circles around the edges of the irises. They were just pure, unadultered _blue_ , like a blue, blue sky. She smiled and said, curiously, "Hi there."

Midna wanted to fan herself, to drop her jaw onto the table, but she couldn't. _That would be too obvious_.

 _She has a farmer's accent!_

Midna put her elbows on the table, putting her chin on a hand and gazing at the girl in a sultry way. "You came straight out of heaven, didn't ya?"

The girl snorted, looking back at her phone. "Not likely."

Well she hadn't ran, so she probably wasn't anti-gay. But was she a _lesbian?_ "I'm Midna."

"Do ya always use terrible pick up lines, Midna? I've heard better from drunk horses."

Midna shrugged with a knowing look. "I don't know baby, I'm pretty drunk on you!"

The girl suddenly guffawed. "Oh my gosh! That was AWFUL!"

Midna joined in her laughter. She leaned back confidently and put her hands behind her head leisurely. "You gonna tell me your name or what?"

The girl smiled, tucking her phone away in her purse. Then she leaned back and folded her arms. "My name's Malon, and I'm gay as a pony that shits rainbows."

Midna could have fainted on the spot.

* * *

Nabooru felt tense. Ever since Ganondorf had been incarcerated, Gerudos were a daily topic at the diner. More than once she'd approach one of her tables, only to have the table's conversation be suddenly hushed as they looked at her with jaded eyes. She tried to be chipper. She even changed her makeup routine in the morning so that she would look less Gerudo and more . . . Hylian. Normally this would disgust her, but she was legitimately scared. A few patrons cursed at her under their breath, others grabbed their purses tighter, and out on the street, some even bared the knives on their belts. They didn't unsheath them, just made a point of showing her, a teenage girl, that they had weapons. Most of these last ones were men.

That morning had been pretty bad.

"Why don't you come steal from me, sweetie?" One man had said, to the lewd chuckles of his two friends.

Nabooru had ducked her head and kept walking, deciding from now on she would wear shoes she could run in instead of her half-pumps for work. _This isn't even a shady street! It's the main thoroughfare!_

She heard the men follow her, heard their footsteps, and her heart began to race in fear. The first man shouted, "Hold on, there, babe, I've got a special package for you, right here in my pants!"

The other men laughed, sounding impressed, but Nabs gagged and she began to run. She didn't stop until she made it to the diner. Then she locked herself in the bathroom and bawled for an hour until her boss threatened to send her home again. That would have meant walking home again, possibly running into those men or others like them, so Nabooru forced herself to buck up, washed her face, and went to work.

If only her grannies' car hadn't broken down, she never would have had to walk to work.

It was the busiest day of the week, a Friday. During her break, she counted her tips. Not even half of her normal, but the same amount of tables. People were even tipping her less because of her heritage. Her break wasn't a break so much as an intense budget session in which she tried to split up her money in a million ways to try to pay for everything. _If this is all I'll get these days . . . I might need a better job . . . maybe if I don't buy makeup for a year . . ._

"Hey, Nabooru!" She turned to see her coworker, Anju, the owner's daughter, who was working as a host. "I just seated you. Table 13."

Nabooru nodded. "Thanks, Anju." She hadn't realized her break was over. She put her apron back on and hurried to table 13. When she saw who sat there, his blond hair messy and unkempt, glancing over a menu, she gave a huge sigh of relief.

Link looked up as she approached, and smiled brightly, the outsides of his eyes crinkling. "Hi, Nabs!"

"H-hi, Link!" Nabooru replied, her voice trembling. "You have no idea how glad I am to see you."

Link's face became serious. He took in her face, the lack of makeup and the nervous stance. Gosh, his green eyes were gorgeous . . . "What's up?" he asked.

Nabooru's face flushed with embarrassment. _Why am I embarrassed? I've done nothing wrong, it was those men that were doing something wrong!_ Even so, she looked away and pushed a strand of her hair back behind her ear self-consciously, unable to shake the feelings of shame. "It's nothing, just . . . I've had a really bad day! So, how are you doing?"

Link grinned again, though this time it wasn't as big. He seemed awfully concerned, which made Nabooru want to bite her lip, but she kept up the fake appearance of a smile. Link said, "Just getting something to eat before I go to work myself."

"You got a new job? Congratulations! Where at?"

"Thanks! At Linebeck's shipyard."

"THAT crazy old treasure hunter?" She raised an eyebrow.

Link laughed. "He's okay . . . a bit greedy, but he's okay! And I really like the person I work with."

"Coworkers make or break a job, so that's good. What can I get you to drink?"

When she returned with his drink, he looked ready to order, so she set the lemonade down and pulled out her notepad and red pen. As she jotted down his order, she couldn't help but look him over. He had grown a lot in the year they'd gone to school together, and buffed out, too. She loved the way the sun tanned his skin and bleached his hair. A foot or two taller and he'd be as buff and Ganondorf, even. He looked strong, really strong . . .

She had to pull every nerve in her body to be brave enough to speak. "Um . . ."

"Yeah?" He glanced up, right into her eyes, without wavering, face completely open, body relaxed like he knew there was no danger. Nobody else looked at her like that. To Link, she wasn't just a Gerudo, she wasn't just a pretty body that might steal him blind. Wait, did he think she was pretty?

She grabbed fistfuls of her apron in her white-knuckled hands. "You care about . . . about girls, right?"

Link's face drew a blank. "Yeah." Then his face was puzzled.

 _Stupid stupid!_ How was she to put this? "When do you get off work?"

"Around midnight." He rolled his eyes. "I'm supposed to get off at ten, but Linebeck always seems to find something else for me to do."

Nabooru nodded, staring at her hands. "Yeah, that's how it is for me, too. S'posed to get off at ten, but it never happens." She tried to make it sound light, and failed.

Link leaned over the table and down a little so he could maybe get a better look at Nabooru's face. "Nabs, what's wrong?"

She was certain she was going to cry. She was going to cry. She was. _Stop it! Don't be weird! You'll freak him out!_ "Do you think . . . I mean . . . my grannies' car is broken and it'll be dark when I get off, so . . . so . . . do you think you could walk me home tonight?"

"Oh!" Link's face cleared and he laughed. "Is that all? Of course I will. No sweat, Nabooru, I'd love to walk you home."

Relief washed over Nabooru, enough so that she felt a little flutter at Link's words. _He'd_ love _to walk me home?_ A bashful smile crossed her face. "Thanks, Link. You're so reliable!"

"Huh?" He shrugged self-consciously, chuckling slightly. "I guess."

"No, really. Thank you." Now she thought she might really cry, so she bounced away before Link could say any more. She beamed, feeling so much safer and like a real human being, a real _girl_ again. Before Link, she'd never even thought about trusting a guy before. He was so different from all the other men she'd met, and those evil men on the street were like a whole other species.

She reflected on a lot of things as she went about her duties. After putting in his food order, she stole a glance at him, smiling to herself.

* * *

Link zoned out while staring out the diner window, his arms spread out on either side of his booth, one foot bouncing on the other knee. He was thinking about Nabooru, and his stomach was full of butterflies. He'd never seen her without makeup before. She always wore a ton of it! Not that she wasn't attractive with it on, though, just . . . Her face was a beautiful brownish red, but above all there was something he'd never guessed. She had freckles! A flush reached his cheeks just thinking about it. Faint freckles, yes, but enough to make his heart catch. _Red hair . . . freckles . . . who does THAT sound like?_ He smirked bashfully to himself as he recalled Shad. _I have a type . . ._

But her skin . . . wow . . . and her eyes! Even without black mascara wingtips they popped like crazy. He'd always thought Nabooru was beautiful when he saw her at school or at Sheik's, he liked what she did with her hair, her clothes, her makeup— _Oh Goddesses, I've had a crush on her for a long time, haven't I?!_ But he'd never stopped to think about it. But then she'd acted so bashful and he realized maybe, just maybe, she liked him? _Oh man . . . no way, no way! She's way too beautiful, she'd never even look at me, she just doesn't want to walk home alone, and I'm the reliable nice guy. Yeah._

Besides, she was intense, and she hated men. They'd never really even had much of a conversation before, although there was that one time when she was taking guitar lessons from Shadow, and Shadow said she asked for him.

He smacked his forehead on the table. _I'm an idiot! Why didn't I ask Sheik for her number and call her?_

The image of her bashfully pushing a strand of hair behind her ear kept playing and replaying in his head, and the way she opened up about her bad day. I mean she hadn't given details, but still, it wasn't just anybody Nabooru ever showed a weak side to. Had she ever been weak in front of Link? Or anybody? . . . Was she just that scared?

Link sat up, a sense of seriousness dampening his fluttery feelings, and he let it go. _What was she so bothered by, anyway?_

* * *

Nabooru left the ladies' room, taking long strides down the hall. She knew her customers were waiting . . .

"Hey."

She stopped and turned half around. A Hylian man leaned against the wall next to the door to the men's room. He was in his thirties, she guessed, with brown, greasy hair combed to one side. "Can I help you?" she asked.

"Could you unlock the door for me, peach?"

"Seriously?" Someone had been locking the bathroom doors as some kind of prank for the last week. She walked over quickly, pulling the keys from her belt. "I'm sorry, sir, I'll just get that for you."

As she was about to put the key in the lock, she felt a large hand on the small of her back, and the man's breath as he leaned closer and said into her ear, "I know you've got _other_ business going on."

"What." Nabooru was too shocked to move, she scrambled for her thoughts. _There's a man's hand on my back, a man's hand on my back, on my body!_

"Don't worry, I'll pay you," the man whispered.

"Pay me?" Nabooru was beginning to realize what was going on, and it frightened her.

"Five hundred rupees, what do you say?"

"Five hundred . . ." For the briefest moment, very VERY brief, Nabooru considered it, but not because she wanted money. _Five hundred rupees would be enough to fix the car, and then I wouldn't ever have to deal with men like this ever again! Just this one time and it'll all be over . . ._

Her face hardened. Of course that wasn't true. She had no control over this situation. If he wanted to hurt her, if ANY man wanted to hurt her, it was going to happen no matter what she did, and no matter what she did to avoid future situations, it was their fault, NOT hers. But right now, she didn't feel like complying. "Unhand me _right now!_ "

"Excuse me?"

She contemplated kicking him, or shoving him, using her many Gerudo fighting abilities on him, but what if he complained that she assaulted him? Nobody would believe a Gerudo wasn't responsible, she could get _fired_ , or even arrested, and her family needed the money or they'd end up on the streets. Those awful, awful streets . . . She couldn't cause a scene, but she didn't want, DID NOT WANT to have anything at all to do with this man!

Even though she was terrified inside, she tried pushing him away, but he grabbed her arms so she stated, trying not to be too loud, "I said no! Go away! Leave me alone!"

"What, am I not good enough for you? The little slut wants to be picky about her customers?"

She realized she probably had to do something, or else who knew what this guy would do? Maybe the bathroom door wasn't locked. Maybe he'd drag her in there and— "LET GO!" she shouted, finally.

Suddenly he threw her off, and she landed on her back on the ground. "Fine!" The man said. Nabooru knew he only let her go because he was afraid of being caught because she had screamed. As she stumbled to her feet while trying to stumble away, his voice hissed after her, "Be a bitch. I was trying to do you a favor, you little harlot! You probably have herpes anyways!"

Nabooru, finally on her feet, made a beeline for the end of the hallway. As she reached the end of it, someone blew past her in the opposite direction, into the hallway, so fast she didn't recognize him at first. She skidded to a halt and looked back. ". . . Link?"

It was indeed Link, and he was a flurry of rage. Nabooru had never seen him act so fast, or be so angry. It was no wonder she hadn't recognized him. Everything happened so fast Nabooru only had time for her jaw to drop in awe. The man had no time to react. Link, a few inches shorter, grabbed the man's shirt with his right hand, his left arm winding up behind him as he glared right into the man's face. His fist was faster than lightning, colliding with the man's face and sending him flying into the opposite wall, head first.

The man fell to the ground in a heap, trying to reorient himself. Nabooru glanced at Link. His face was terrifying, so terrifying even she felt afraid, but she knew she had to do something because Link looked ready to beat the man into a bloody pulp. She ran forward and linked her arms around his left arm, his punching arm. "Link, stop!"

He looked at her, as if broken out of a spell.

A woman's voice shouted, "What is going ON here?"

Nabooru's stomach sank with dread. That was her manager. The middle-aged lady, already with greying hair, had her hands on her cheeks. She pointed an accusatory finger at Link. "YOU! Get out of my diner! And don't you DARE come back!"

"You don't understand, Ma'am!" Nabooru stood up for Link, who was busying staring down the man, who was trying to get up. "This man was trying to proposition me, Link was just protecting me." She unconsciously gave his arm a squeeze. He made sure to keep himself in front of her as the man stood up and rushed out of the diner without a word, a hand over his bruised face.

Nabooru's manager didn't let her get another word out. She huffed over and waved her finger in Nabooru's face. "I don't care what you've got going on outside this job, but don't you ever, EVER bring your trash into this family establishment."

Nabooru balked. "My . . ." She had been right. Not even her manager, who'd known her for two years, believed that she had nothing to do with this, that she hadn't started it, that she was worthless and not worth defending! "Is . . . is that what you think? You think I ASKED for this?" She looked at Link. Did he think that, too?

But Link wasn't saying anything, simply glared at the woman. His muscles were so tense under Nabooru's hands . . .

"I don't know what to think, girl," her manager was saying, "and if you ever bring trouble on my property again I will FIRE you on the spot, is that clear?"

"You know what?" Nabooru's voice dripped with disgust and rage as she let go of Link. She untied her apron, ripped it off and threw it on the ground. "I _quit!_ " She grabbed Link's hand and they left the diner together.

* * *

"Oh my Sand Goddess, what have I done?" Nabooru sat on the bench outside the gas station she and Link had wandered to, face in her hands. Link's bike that he used to commute to work leaned against the wall of the gas station.

Link sat next to her, saying nothing. He was staring stiffly straight ahead.

"My family NEEDS that money!" Nabooru lamented.

Still Link said nothing, and she began to get fearful. But she was beside herself, so she kept saying her worries aloud. "Link, I can't pay for school next year. I'm going to Castle High instead. I won't get to see Midna or Zelda—I mean Sheik—" She hated when she got so upset she forgot to respect Sheik, it was the _worst thing!_ "I won't get to see anybody!"

Link didn't react, so Nabooru glanced at him. His eyes were somewhere else, that fierce look he gave the man on his face again. Nervous, Nabooru looked away. She wondered if he was mad at her. She got him kicked out of the diner. Well, that man did, but maybe Link blamed her, too, like her manager. She wouldn't apologize, though she wanted to, anything to fix it and make it go away, but . . . "Should I . . . should I go?" She looked up shyly.

She saw Link gulp, and he drew in a quick, deep breath. He was extremely upset, and suddenly she realized with surprise that he was so angry that he was incapable of speaking. It felt horrible, thinking he might be that mad at her. She shrank into herself and made to stand up and leave, but suddenly he raised an arm and wrapped it around her shoulders, pulling her to him protectively, securely, hand on her upper arm, tapping it a few times fitfully. When she looked at him, he turned his face away so she wouldn't see how angry he truly was. As though she wasn't the person he was angry at, as if that was a side of himself he didn't want her or anyone he cared about to see. Did he feel guilty about punching the man? About losing it the way he had? She could feel how fast his heart pumped his blood through his body, through his arm. All of her doubts washed away and she smiled, her eyes welling up slightly. He wasn't angry at her. He was angry because of what she'd been put through. She leaned her head on his shoulder, and he pulled her closer.

"You probably shouldn't have punched that guy," Nabooru said. "You could get in trouble defending me."

What little of his face she could see was puzzled. Obviously, honest, Hylian, good guy Link wouldn't get racism. 'Why would I get in trouble for doing the right thing?' his face said.

She shrugged happily. Maybe he felt guilty for how he did it, but he sure as heck didn't regret helping her! "Maybe I'm wrong."

Oh if only. A moment later a police cruiser pulled into the parking lot and stopped in front of them. The man from the diner, the one Link had decked, came out the passenger side, and a Goron officer came out from the driver's side.

The man from the diner was pointing at them. "That's them, officer, and that's the guy that assaulted me!"

Nabooru's jaw dropped. Now _he_ was claiming he got assaulted? I mean, he _did_ , but only after he tried to get her to be his prostitute and then threw her on the ground. He assaulted _her._ Link was defending her! She and Link stood up.

The officer walked around the front of the car and glared down at Link. "Would you tell me what's happened here?"

"He was hurting her, so I stepped in, sir," Link said.

The Goron slowly glanced over Nabooru, looking her up and down. Then he rolled his eyes. "Come with me, son." He grabbed Link's arm and dragged him to the cruiser, smacking him down on it and pulling his hands behind his back.

"What? Seriously?!" Link's face was contorted with disbelief.

The Goron began reciting Link's rights.

Nabooru knew it was useless, but she chimed in anyway. "Link was just trying to help me! I'm not like that officer, this man was hurting me! This isn't Link's fault!"

"You're right," the officer said, having finished reciting. "This is _your_ fault. Stop seducing young boys, get some self respect!" With that he shoved Link in the back of the cruiser and walked around to the driver's side.

"THAT'S NOT HOW IT IS!" Nabooru shouted as the officer drove away with Link. The man from the diner was gloating, chuckling as he ogled her.

Afraid he might try something, Nabooru spat at him, then grabbed Link's bike, jumped on it, and sped away as fast as the wheels could take her.

* * *

AN: Oh no, whatever will happen to Link?

Guestie, you asked for lesbians, I gave you lesbians! Mwahaha! Do you like the pairing? I do.


	41. Chapter 41

AN: AHA! I found the link between Windwaker Link, who my Link is based on, of course, and Lorule! On the door of everyone who lives in Outset is an upside-down Triforce, just like the one in Lorule :) So it totally makes sense that my Link, based on Windwaker Link, is related to Ravio and Hilda, who are Loruleans in the newest Zelda game.

I mean the connection doesn't matter THAT much to me, it's just really cool that there actually is one!

I got a few new followers, reviews, and such. Thank you so much! I enjoy every review I get!

ROFLCOPTER: Crisis . . . well you'll see! haha!

* * *

Chapter 41: Sometimes, all you need is love!

 _I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS!_ Link was mortified. He'd never been on the wrong side of the law before—but he hadn't even done anything wrong! Had he? Okay, maybe he didn't need to punch the guy, but somebody had to stand up to him! And what was he supposed to do? He had been so furious.

He still couldn't think about it without fury threatening to boil over and make him punch a wall. He sat in that cell in the police office where they keep, like, drunks and other minor offenders. Link had no idea what it was called. He didn't know anything about the inside of a police station except what you saw on TV, and everyone knew THAT wasn't accurate.

He sat on a worn bench, a snoring, drunk old Zora dozing a little way's away. He leaned his head back on the wall. _Mom and Dad would be so disappointed! Grandma's gonna KILL me!_ They had taken his wallet, his phone, fingerprinted him . . . he was now in the system.

 _Oh my gosh, what if I go to jail?! Like REAL jail?_ He was filled with guilt again, but then every time he was filled with guilt as he cycled through the insanity of the reality of being arrested, he remembered that he hadn't done anything actually _wrong_. He'd done what he thought he had to, to protect someone. And then he knew his parents would be proud. Wouldn't they? So the cycle of emotions continued.

He hadn't been there very long, but the big doors to the outside buzzed and then opened, and a Zoran officer came in. "Mr. Knight?"

Link stood up and walked to the bars. "Yes?"

"Somebody's posted your bail. You're free to go." He unlocked the door.

 _Oh thank the goddesses!_ "Thank you, sir," Link said as the person who posted bail walked through the door. Link instantly began to stutter, "Granny, I am SO SO SORRY, I didn't mean to and I didn't even do anything _wrong—_ " He caught himself.

Instead of his grandmother, whom he had been expecting, a bemused Linebeck looked down his nose at him.

Link gaped. "You . . . you posted my bail?" Greedy Linebeck?!

Linebeck put his hands on his hips and put his weight on one leg haughtily. "Yep! And that officer up front owes me, so they won't contact your grandmother."

A huge sense of relief flooded through Link. "Really? Gee, Linebeck, I don't know how I can ever repay you!"

There was the shrewd look. "Oh you will. You're working the weekend."

"Aaah, no! Really?"

"Are you complaining?"

Link shut his mouth, but couldn't stop the pout. "No."

Linebeck smiled and strutted to the door, his boots clacking on the cement floor. He grabbed the door to the cell. Link followed him, anticipating being let out. Linebeck paused, and Link fretted, wondering if the guy had changed his mind. Could you change your mind after having already posted bail?

"Just one thing, boy," Linebeck said, staring down at him again.

"What?"

"What's this about you getting caught up in Gerudo affairs and punching a man?"

Link sent a glance to the sky. "Oh, not _you too!_ Nabooru isn't a slut, first of all, and it doesn't matter because NOBODY GETS TO HURT GIRLS OR ANYBODY LIKE THAT! Just because she's a Gerudo doesn't mean people get to treat her like crap, and if you wanna take back your bail because I stood up for her . . . what-why are you smiling?!"

Linebeck had an immensely pleased look on his face, but from him with those sunken eyes and hallow cheeks it looked positively creepy. Link leaned away with a creeped out expression. Linebeck pushed away from the door, opening it while he did. "Come along, you've got hours to make up!"

Befuddled, Link stared after him a moment before regaining his senses and hurrying out of the cell as fast as he could without running.

* * *

Romani Ranch. A happy, bustling ranch with brightly colored red buildings, including a giant barn meant only for tourists. Inside were shelves and boxes full of the ranch's products, eggs and milk, and everything you could ever imagine making with them. Cheese, pudding, there was a confectionary stand, a bakery stand, a place to buy hay, and hundreds of vegetables and fruits from the ranch's neighboring farm. A special cart held bottles of Chateau Romani, the ranch's prized product, which was in high demand, neck-and-neck with Lon Lon Milk in terms of popularity. There were also several barbecues selling barbecued everything, including barbecued beef and chicken and pork.

Happy people milled inside, speaking cheerfully with one another, children running around with toys they found in the many carts.

Malon, Shadow, Midna, and Vio were scoping the place out. Malon and Shadow looked around judgingly. Vio just stood with a bland expression on his face, and Midna looked confused. Midna was a voracious meat eater, after all, but Malon seemed cool, so she'd tagged along. She'd no idea it was going to be a protest, but hey! The thing's you do for love . . .

"I'm sure of it!" Malon said. "I saw it myself! They're not feedin' those animals right! They keep them In tiny pens, I've never seen such sad faces on animals before that wasn't dying!"

Shadow nodded, fists clenched. "Are we ready to do this?"

Malon nodded. Midna looked very apprehensive, and Vio sighed audibly, pulling a small megaphone from inside his jacket, as well as a tiny flag. The flag had a cucco on it, with a circle and a cross through it. He waved the flag over his head and held the megaphone up to his mouth. "MEAT IS MURDER! ROMANI RANCH COMMITS MURDER! DON'T BUY PRODUCTS FROM ROMANI RANCH! MURDER! MURDER!"

Shadow and Malon made this their cue, and between them they unfurled a large banner with ANIMALS ARE OUR FRIENDS, NOT FOOD painted in red. They, too, held megaphones in front of their mouths.

Shadow shouted, "ANIMALS HAVE LIVES AND FEELINGS TOO!"

Then Malon, "THIS RANCH TORTURES ITS ANIMALS, FORCES THEM TO LIVE IN UNSATISFACTORY CAGES!"

"ANIMALS SHOULD NOT BE CAGED! THEY SHOULD RUN FREE!"

"THEY FEED CUCCO NUGGETS TO THEIR CUCCOS! HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO EAT HUMAN? MMMMMM ROAST NOSES AND BUTT CHEEKS!"

"THAT'S WHAT'S IN HERE! COW AND PORK BUTTS! YOU'RE EATING COW AND PORK BUTTS!" He pointed accusingly at two kids at a barbecue stand, holding beef ka-bobs.

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?"

"HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE STUCK IN A CAGE WAITING FOR SOMEONE TO CUT YOUR BUTT OFF?!"

Vio finished by yelling, "MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICE! BOYCOTT ROMANI RANCH! SHOP CONSCIOUSLY! SAVE THE ANIMALS! RAH! RAH!"

They were greeted with absolute silence.

Then one kid at the barbecue looked at his ka-bob in horror. "This is a COW?!"

The other kid had already dropped his ka-bob on the ground. "I don't wanna eat a BUTT!"

The first kid also dropped his ka-bob and they ran screaming. Their parents chased after them, exasperated.

Shadow pumped a fist in the air. "Victory!"

Half of the patrons started going back to shopping. Others sat around whispering, staring at the teenagers like they were weirdos or worse, criminals.

Something wet smacked Malon right in the chest. "Ouch!" Someone had thrown their drink at her. Now she smelled like Chateau Romani. "Hey!"

Midna blasted, "WHAT KIND OF IDIOT WASTES A GOOD DRINK! DON'T YOU KNOW THERE ARE KIDS THIRSTING TO DEATH IN THE DESERT?" Vio had to restrain her.

A grandma came up, wearing the sourest expression. "You children ought to be ashamed of yourselves! Go home and study, get off the streets!"

Shadow put his hands on his hips. "Just because we're teenagers doesn't mean we're wrong! You wouldn't eat a dog, would you?"

She looked terribly offended. "Of course not! I'm not an ANIMAL!"

"Then why are cows and sheep so different?"

Now the whispers were turning into insults. "Go home, weirdos!" "I've shopped here all my life, I KNOW Romani's is good to their animals!" "Why don't you go find something REAL to worry about—like the Gerudo crime rate!" "TRASH! That's what you are, TRASH!"

Shadow and Malon took the insults proudly, rolling up their banner. Midna swatted Vio off and growled at everybody. Vio seemed entirely unperturbed. That is, until someone smacked him with a vegetable. Then more vegetables followed, pelting the teenagers relentlessly. They had to drop the banner and megaphones to cover their heads. Fast as lightning, Vio began throwing the vegetables back with frightening accuracy.

A woman ran out of the crowd and to the teenagers, holding her arms up. "Everyone! Everyone! I am Romani, I am in charge here! PLEASE calm down, they're just kids!" The onslaught of vegetables ended, all except for Vio, whose face was flushed scarlet with embarrassment and rage. He didn't quite seem to realize, or care, that the onslaught was over. He just kept throwing vegetables at the people who'd thrown them first, quickly, one, two, three—"HEY!" Romani shouted, getting his attention. Vio dropped the onion in his hands and turned his back on her, huffing.

Romani calmed the patrons down some more, and when most of them had returned to business, she turned to Shadow. "I recognize you. You're Link's twin brother! What are you doing here, and why are you causing such a ruckus?"

Shadow had recognized her as well. It was Aryll's caretaker, the one that taught her school and helped her learn to speak. "We're just peacefully protesting!" Shadow exclaimed. Then he pointed a finger angrily in her face. "How could you do this? You know how I feel about animals!"

Romani held a hand up to his finger, making him put it away. "We are EXTREMELY dedicated to our animals! And if you thought there was a problem, why didn't you come to me first?!"

"Why would I ask somebody who's abusing animals if they are abusing animals?"

Romani pinched her nose with a thumb and forefinger. "Shadow, I will talk with you about this, but right now YOU NEED TO LEAVE!"

Shadow moaned. "That's what we were TRYING to do!"

"I won't report to police this time, but _next time_ . . ." Romani raised an eyebrow. Then she saw Malon. "And you! Don't tell me this is some stupid publicity stunt? I know your family's pretty much down the drain, and you're working that slutty job at the bar, but stooping to slander to boost your own sales, now?"

Malon looked ready to spit. Shadow jumped in front of her. "Hey! What's your problem with Malon?"

Midna shouted from the side, "Yeah!?"

Malon answered first. "She's my ranch's rival. Didn't you figure that out? We HATE each other!"

Realization dawned on Shadow's fae. "Ooooh! Wait, WAS this to boost your own sales?"

"Not on your life," Malon snarled, but at Romani instead of Shadow. She pushed Shadow out of the way and got into Romani's face. "How DARE you attack my family!"

Romani spat back, "Not my fault your papa put himself in jail! You're not careful, you'll end up there, too, sweetheart!"

"DON'T call me sweetheart!" Malon's face was blotchy red.

Romani clenched her fists and towered over Malon. "GET. OUT! Before I change my mind and call the cops on you!"

Shadow took Malon's arm in one hand and put his other arm around her. "It's not worth it, Mal. Midna. Vio. Let's go." Midna and Vio had collected all of their stuff and came to stand behind Malon and Shadow. The four walked around the steaming Romani and left the barn.

When they were finally outside the ranch, Malon broke into tears. "How could she say that?! My family's fine! Just cuz my mom's dead and dad's in jail . . . that don't mean nothin'!"

Midna, her arms full of their paraphernalia, suddenly rushed forward to walk beside Malon. "Your dad's in jail?" Midna already knew about Malon's mother. That had come up in the grocery store.

Malon nodded.

"Dang, I'm sorry."

"I've never seen Romani be that petty," Shadow said. "That was . . . harsh."

"She knew you," Malon noted. "Why'd she know you?"

Shadow sighed. "She's my sister's caretaker. Well, half sister. But . . . sister. She has autism. So. Romani helps her out."

"How's she got time to do that and work the ranch?" Malon wondered. "Somethin' up here."

"Are you going to be okay?" Shadow asked, noting the tear streaks on Malon's face.

"Oh, I gotta look GAWD awful!" She stopped walking and began wiping her face.

Midna wanted to pat her back, but her arms were full. She sent a meaningful glance at Vio, who rolled his eyes and held his own arms out. Midna dumped the stuff into them and THEN patted Malon on the back. "Don't worry, you're not the ugliest crier I've ever seen!"

Malon chuckled. "I need a new shirt." She held the front of the wet, stained garment away from her.

Shadow let her go long enough to pull his jacket off. "Here, you can wear this until we get home."

"Thanks, Shadow . . ."

"So, uuuuh," Midna asked. "Whose home are we going to?"

"We can't go to mine," Shadow said, "Romani might end up there soon."

"Can't go to mine, either," Midna said. "Too strict. Ask too many questions, and they don't like outsiders. They're kind racist."

"There's something ironic about a minority group being racist," Shadow commented. Midna snorted in agreement. "What about your house, Malon?"

She shook her head. "Ingo's probably passed out drunk on the couch. We could sneak past him, but . . . if he wakes up . . . he's a mean drunk . . ."

Shadow didn't want to inquire further, and Malon looked like she was hoping someone would rescue her from the topic, so he turned to Vio.

Actually, everyone turned to Vio.

He looked at all of them, then adjusted his glasses. "I guess that's my cue, isn't it?"

* * *

Vio's house was a really old wooden house, very small for a two-story place. It had a small yard that needed some serious weed eating, some thirsty-looking plants in pots on the porch, and stone steps that led up to a screen door with several small holes.

"It'll be cramped, but we can order pizza," Vio said. "I know where Blue keeps his emergency cash."

"We don't have to do that," Shadow offered. "I've got money. I can pay for it."

Vio led the way inside. "I'm home!"

A blond head looked up from the living room floor. "Hey Vio!" Green pulled the earphones off his head, got up, and leaped onto the couch so he could look over its back at them. "Who're your friends? Have they come to hang out?"

"Yes. Everyone, this is Green."

A high-pitched, cheery voice called from the kitchen and another boy came out. "Helloooooooo! Oh! Lots of . . . friends." He seemed quite shocked, the glass and towel in his hands pausing.

"Everyone, this is Red."

"You're named after colors?" Malon asked.

"They're nicknames," Red replied, finally recovering, his hands returning to drying the glass. "Vio hates the idea of birth names, so we don't use them."

"Why don't you like—" Malon began, but Vio interrupted, "Why would I use the name given to me by people who abandoned me?" Malon nodded understandingly. Vio broodily walked to a dilapidated lounge chair and sat down. Shadow followed and sat on the chair's arm, smiling cheerfully as he and Vio began to chat with Green.

"I'm Malon." She held her hand out to Red, who shook it.

"And I'm Midna!" She also shook his hand, then asked, "Are you alright with us being here, Red? You looked a little surprised before."

Red's eyes widened and he shook his head emphatically, "Oh no, I don't mind! I'm just surprised, is all. I had no idea Vio had so many . . . friends. He's never had friends before." He looked at the violet-garbed teenager. "It's rather shocking, actually."

Malon and Midna grinned at each other, then Midna said, "He's a weirdo, but he's alright!"

Red chuckled, then said brightly, "I'm so happy you're here! I was about to make dinner, actually. Would you like to help?"

Midna shrugged when Malon glanced at her, so she said, "Well, we were gonna order pizza, but . . . sure!"

* * *

"My, you're quite talented!" Red told Malon, his cheeks rosy with cheerfulness. Literally. Usually rosy cheeks meant it was cold outside or somebody did something bashful, but for Red, his cheeks turned red when he was extremely pleased and happy. Malon smirked. _I guess that's where he gets his nickname, then!_

"Thanks!" Malon replied. She was expertly chopping vegetables for their oriental food fest. "I have to do all the cooking at home. I don't mind. It's kinda relaxing actually." She sighed. "But it's so time consuming and I just don't got time anymore."

"Me, either," Red moaned, commiserating. He elbowed her lightly. "You know what we should do together? Freezer meals!"

"That's a great idea!"

Midna and Green were battling each other on the Kii, their video game console. They were the same height, which meant their arms were swinging around and smacking each other constantly. They were giggling and laughing all while trying to stand in front of each other to get the best reception for their controllers.

Shadow and Vio sat next to each other on the couch, Shadow taking shameless amounts of selfies of them both, and Vio with his arm around Shadow's shoulders and the other on back of the couch.

The front door opened and Blue came in, looking tired and extremely stressed as he yelled, "I'm home!" At sight of the people in the living room and kitchen, he became surprised. "Whoa, Red, you having a party—"

"HI BLUE!" Red interrupted loudly from the kitchen. "Dinner's just about ready." He said pointedly, "Vio decided to have _his friends_ over! Isn't that nice?"

"His friends—" Blue gaped as everyone said hello to him. Some of the stress left the lines on his face, and he actually smiled a bit. "Yeah. That's great."

"BLUUUUUUUE!" Green abandoned his game, to Midna's outrage, and vaulted over the couch and threw his arms around Blue's middle. Blue ruffled his hair affectionately. "Blue! Blue! Can we have a naming session, pleaaaaase?"

The others uttered agreement at the wonderful idea, but Blue deflated considerably. "I dunno, Green, I'm really tired." He looked it. "I've been up since 3am, but you guys could do it without me. The music won't bug me."

Green's eye welled up. "But . . . it's just we're all here now, and that hasn't happened in forever!"

Blue's eyebrows curved up in the middle. "It hasn't, huh?" He hugged Green and rubbed his back. "Well you're right!"

"You mean we can?!" Green shouted brightly as Blue let him go.

Red broke in to say, "Blue, you shouldn't push yourself."

"Whaddaya mean?" Blue cut him off, not angrily, but quite desperately. It was obvious he _was_ pushing himself, for Green's sake. "I'm not THAT tired. Let's have a jam session! We can eat after, Red."

"Alright then . . ."

Green threw his arms into the air and whooped. "YEAAAAAAH!" he ran to a closet, opened it, and began pulling out instruments, wires, and amps. Shadow and Vio went over to help.

"Wow! Is this really happenin?" Malon exclaimed excitedly. "I've never been in an actual band before!"

"You play anything?" Midna asked.

"You kiddin'? I got a voice like an angel! Or a foghorn. You pick." She stood up to help get things set up.

When everything was set up, they spent the next several hours jamming random songs, only taking a short break for dinner, in turns so there would be music AND dinner. Shadow and Green played the guitars. Midna played the digital drumset—it wasn't the best, but Midna could make almost any drumset sound good. Everyone sang, Red, Blue, Vio, and Green doing some great harmonies and Malon singing good counterpoint.

The group played duets, trios, group songs, everything they could possibly think of, until the sun went down and in the silence between songs you could hear the crickets outside, and a few stray dogs as the moon rose.

Everyone was laughing and having a good time. For most of them, it was the most fun they'd had in months, the first night without any real stress.

Green was going to give the drums a try. "Come on, gimme the drumsticks, gimme gimmeeeeee!"

"I will, I will, OUCH! Just as soon as I get rid of this itch!" Midna was scratching the back of her hand rigorously, which she'd been doing all night, but now worst of all. "YEOUCH!"

Shadow knew that yelp. She's broken skin.

"Ooooooow!"

Malon stood up. "I'll get you a paper towel! Red, you got a bandaid?"

Shadow walked over and took her hand gingerly. "What are you scratching at, anyway, you got a bug bite?"

"No, it just—"

"Wait a second!" Shadow leaned in close. There was something on Midna's hand, a shape. It was a silver triangle, and stuck out like a sore thumb on her black hand. On top of it were two other triangles, but these ones were only lines. The first one was filled out. "Vio! Vio come look at this!"

When Vio got there, Shadow pointed at Midna's hand. "Doesn't this look like the mark on your hand?"

"My birthmark?" Vio looked confused. He held up his left hand. A set of three triangles was on Vio's hand as well, but dark brown, and it was the bottom left one that was filled in. The triangles were in a different position, too. They compared the triangles.

"What is it?" Midna asked, a little freaked. "Is this some sort of Hylian thing?! Why is there a Hylian thing on my hand?!"

Shadow knew what to do instantly. He looked up. "We have to call Sheik!"


	42. Chapter 42

AN: OOOOH yeah, we're gearing up to the end of year one here! Building up to it. Just letting you know right now, YOU WILL PROBABLY NEED TISSUES. I may change how this year ends (and there will be another year!) but probably not.

ROFLCOPTER: Wait until you read THIS chapter! Oh nooooes! Thanks for writing!

him: Thank you so much! I'm so glad you're enjoying it! But hahaha, get some sleep, dang it! Haha! Also, yes, many LGBT people. I wanted to include a lot of them in this story ^.^ Thanks so much for reviewing. I hope you tell me what you think of future chapters!

guest: thanks for reviewing! I'm so glad that chapter came off so well for you :) I hope you continue reading the rest of the story as well so you can tell me how the rest of it comes off, too!

Thank you SO SO much to everyone for reading my story. You are all very lovely people~

PS: I know I've got a lot of words that should be capitalized, but I'm very tired and with school starting I'm not at the top of my editing game-but the story is still correct! I think. I just didn't captalize "triforce" and such . . . consistently.

Please enjoy!

Also, SPOILERS for Link Between Worlds! Not really, but just in case.

I know this AN is long, but QUESTION: do you think I should publish year two as a separate story or just continue to update it in this story? Thanks!

* * *

Chapter 42

Link closed the door to Linebeck's, already dreading the long trip home. It was long on a bike, forget walking. He'd left his bike at that gas station when he'd got arrested. It was probably stolen now . . .

Outside the yard, the sun was beginning to set. He sighed. He'd barely gotten to the street when a _ring-ring_ caught his attention. He looked up and none other than Nabooru came riding down the street on his bike, blasting a huge grin at him. "Hey, Hero!"

Link blushed. Shad used to call him that . . . he'd never understood why. He guessed it made more sense coming from Nabs, but it was embarrassing. A hero? Him? He wasn't sure why it bothered him so much, but he didn't have time to think about it because Nabooru had braked in front of him and started talking. "I figured you needed your bike."

"You're awesome, Nabs! Thanks so much! But how did you know where I was?"

Nabooru climbed off the bike and put it into Link's hands. She didn't let go immediately. "I went to look for you at the police station and they said you'd been bailed out."

"You came looking for me?"

Aside from the bike between them, they were rather close. Link looked down at Nabooru and wondered when he'd gained inches on her. She'd been taller than him before, hadn't she?

A slight flush painted Nabooru's cheeks, and Link's stomach was full of butterflies. Finally Nabs answered, "Of course I went looking! I mean . . . you promised to walk me home." She ducked her head slightly, then looked sideways back up at him, her long eyelashes shading her eyes.

Link wasn't sure when he'd started, but he was grinning. "Well that's just swell! Do you mind if we ride? It's a long trip."

"No, I don't mind."

The bike had a padded rack over the back wheel that actually served pretty well as a seat. Link got onto the bike first and Nabooru got on after and grabbed the sides of his shirt. The idea of biking a pretty girl back home was giving Link all the smiles. He liked being relied on. Even though it was Nabooru who brought him the bike, she'd made it clear she had wanted him to walk her home. He was so happy he got to ride with her. He was already devising ways to be around so he could walk her home again, maybe from school or from a new job, or . . .

"Hey, Link?"

"Huh?"

"You care about your sister and grandma a lot, don't you?"

"Yeah. Why?"

". . . No reason." He could almost hear the smile in her voice, even though he couldn't see her face. _What's that for?_

"I care about Shadow, too, you know," Link said. "And I really cared about my mom. And my dad. And I care about Sheik. I mean I care about a lot of people. What, why did you ask the question? What's so special about Grandma and Aryll?"

She giggled at his piqued curiosity. "Don't you get it? They're girls! Your momma, too. Most Hylian boys treat me like trash, but . . . you don't. That means you've GOTTA love the women in your life a lot, and not just because they're pretty or because they make you food and crap."

"Well . . . you _are_ really, er, um . . . I mean, _beautiful_."

"You saying you only helped me because of that?" she asked playfully.

"Of course not!" Link protested, thinking at first she was serious. Then he got that she was teasing, and smirked exasperatedly. Nabooru chuckled again.

Nabooru directed him to her house, which was not as far as his house. He noticed that it wasn't as nice of a neighborhood as his, and that made him a bit worried. "Do a lot of Gerudo live here?" he asked.

"Yes. We're a pretty tight community, really."

That relieved him a bit. He didn't want to think about Nabooru living around a bunch of low-life Hylians . . . he figured Gerudos must watch out for each other.

This was all really strange for Link to think about, and he was sure he was stupid about it all and had no idea about any of it. He'd never thought about it, but he was really lucky . . . and then that pissed him off. No one should be "lucky" to live in a good neighborhood. That should be a given!

They stopped outside of a small, two-story duplex. The sun had already set, but lights were on in the building.

"My family lives here!" Nabooru said.

"How big is your family?" Link asked.

She answered as she climbed off the bike. "I have a lot of sisters, we live with my grannies and my aunts and my cousins."

"That's a lot of people . . ."

"It's okay, we have the whole duplex. You're coming inside, right?"

"Uh . . . sure!" Link was honestly very curious about Nabooru's home life. She was very private at school, probably to avoid racism.

"You'll want to bring your bike inside. Someone might steal it—people here don't like Hylian boys."

"Why don't they—never mind."

Before they even got to the front door, it was opened by an old lady who looked to Link like she was at least three hundred years old. Layers of skin with countless wrinkles, big yellow eyes that drooped, and a large, hooked nose, and yet her hand had a firm grip on the handle and gestured at them strongly. "Now hurry up, young one, there be monsters nearby!"

"Yes granny!" Nabooru hurried her step, and Link followed. There were no steps to the front door. They walked in past the granny, who shut the door behind them quickly, locking and latching it as fast as lightning.

 _Wow_ , Link thought. _What kind of world have I walked into?_ It wasn't just the quickness of being rushed inside, or the amount of heavy-duty locks on the doors, or the barred windows. The house was the weirdest—no offense intended—house he'd ever been inside. It took several minutes of looking around and wondering if this was kind of what Aryll felt like all the time—overwhelmed by new information.

There were intricate, brightly colored rugs on the floor and hangings on the wall. There was a sweet smell wafting from a jar full of incense sticks, little trails of smoke filling the house. It made Link's eyes water and he coughed slightly, but tried to hide it because he didn't want to appear rude. There were all sorts of pots and vases in intricate designs, bronze and copper ones and also clay ones, painted with geometric designs and housing desert plants. The place was lit with yellow light, almost as if the ceiling lights were very bright lamps. It wasn't dark or dim, though, except in the corners. On one wall was the skull of what was probably a bull, decorated with flowers. A pleasant sound like metal springs being struck or something filled the air, and eventually Link recognized it as music.

The hairs on the back of his neck rose, and Link jumped to find Nabooru's granny staring at him with her big, bulbous eyes. Her nose was almost poking him in the cheek. And . . . she was super short. Like almost two heads shorter than Link. She was bowed over, of course, so maybe at one point she was as tall as Nabooru, but not anymore. Link backed away quickly.

"Link," Nabooru introduced, "this is my Granny Kotake. Granny, this is Link, the boy I was telling you about earlier today."

Granny Kotake nodded. "I seeeeeeeee," she crooned, and her scratchy whining voice put Link on edge.

Suddenly the music from earlier stopped, and footsteps sounded all around the house. Link was totally confused.

Soon Gerudo sisters were appearing from every doorway, and from the top of the stairs, and before Link knew it he was surrounded by at least a dozen curious eyes, including the eyes of another old granny. _Wow! Even she moves fast!_

Nabooru began pointing at everybody. "That's my sister Aveil, she's a pain in the butt—"

"Shut up!"

"—And that's Mehini in her arms, she's six months old, and that one over there is my Aunt Jareil, she's Mehini and Hadley's mom, and that's Hadley and cousin Brennita and her mother—"

Link lost track of all the names.

"-and that's my Granny Koume. Granny Koume and Granny Kotake are twins! Everyone," Nabooru said, throwing her arms out brightly. "This is Link! He saved me from that guy today!"

The other women all threw their hands up and cheered.

Granny Koume put her hands up to silence everybody. "We must celebrate to show our gratitude." She patted Link's arm. "Such a strong boy . . ."

"Stop it, Koume!" Kotake swatted her sister. "Don't be weird!"

Link sent a questioning glance at Nabooru, who shrugged weirdly.

"We've decided to accept you into our tribe!" Koume said. "Not very often does a Hylian man show such bravery, no, not since the great Ganondorf have we been fought for so fiercely!"

Link wondered what she meant. And he was happy, but also, something nagged at him.

The next hour was filled with so much food Link actually couldn't eat it all—though he ate a lot. And there was singing and dancing and they gave link a cape and painted his hands with this brown pigment stuff they called henna, and finally after dinner there was another speech and Granny Koume was about to put a headdress on his head, calling him some sort of "hero."

Link couldn't take it anymore. He stood, out of reach of Granny Koume. The table quieted. "I'm sorry," he said. "I don't want to appear rude, but . . ."

"Oh it's alright, darling," Koume said with a grin. "It's a bit of a culture shock, hm?"

"It's not that," Link said, and Koume blinked in surprise. "It's just," Link continued, and suddenly it hit him what was bothering him about this whole situation. "I'm not a hero!" He pulled the cape from around his shoulders, and stared at the henna on his hands. "I'm just . . . _Link!_ "

"But you protected our precious granddaughter—"

"All I did was be a decent human being!" Link shouted. Then he lowered his voice, slightly abashed. "I don't . . . I don't deserve rewards or anything simply because I did the _right thing_. Was I just supposed to let that guy . . . I mean . . . NO! You guys . . . you guys are amazing, and I feel really welcomed here, and everything, but . . . I didn't do anything special. I get to go wherever I want and people don't shout at me or call me names or try to hurt me. I take it for granted, but protecting other people isn't heroic, it's just what you do! So . . . so if we're going to celebrate, let's celebrate that Nabooru's safe, and that that guy didn't hurt her. It's not about me. I didn't do anything."

The table was silent, and then everyone started looking at one another.

"You didn't have to help me . . ." Nabooru said quietly.

Link shrugged. "You didn't have to be my friend. Or Sheik's friend. But you are. And friends take care of each other no matter what."

There were tears in Nabooru's eyes.

Link backtracked. "I'm sorry! What did I say? Did I say something wrong? I'm so so so so SO sorry!"

He found himself being tackle hugged by both grannies and Nabooru's aunts. "Aaaaaaw, you sweet boy, caring so much about our precious Nabooru." "You're so nice, Linky-boo!" "so humble, so humble."

"Oh stoooooooooooop," Link whined, but half-heartedly. It was clear they liked him a lot and weren't going to stop. It was probably going to be like his own granny. He could probably go join a murderous cult and they'd still invite him for cookies and milk . . .

They went back to eating and to Link's relief stopped talking about what an amazing person he was and instead talked about their home life and Nabooru and discussed what they were going to do now that they were down some cash with Nabooru losing her job.

"You should come work at the shipyard!" Link blurted out suddenly. Then shut up.

Nabooru looked at him. "Really? Is that guy hiring?"

"I heard him mentioning about how he was short staffed. He's kinda uptight about his money, but he DOES pay well . . . mostly. You kinda gotta barter with him."

Nabooru smirked. "Oh I won't have any problems with _that_."

The dinner went on, and Link's stomach started filling with butterflies again. Would Nabooru really end up working at the shipyard?! He really really REALLY hoped she did . . .

He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He pulled it out, and when he saw it was Sheik, excused himself from the table. "Hello?" He said when he got to the hallway.

"Hi Link!"

"What's up, Sheik?"

"Do you remember when I was talking about the Triforce and stuff and how I have it on my hand?"

"Yeah."

"Well, Shadow just called. Midna's got one, too! And I think I forgot to tell you, but Vio does, too!"

"Huh? Okay."

"You've GOT to get here right now!"

"Uh, okay, but I'm at Nabooru's and we're having dinner."

"NABOORU'S?!" Sheik stopped. "What are you doing—never mind, it doesn't matter. I'm sorry, Link, but this is SUPER important."

"Okay . . . Can Nabooru come?"

"Yeah, of course she can. Say hi for me!"

Link snickered. "Say hi yourself. We'll be there soon."

"Okaaaaaay," Sheik had a teasing voice on. Did he suspect something? About him and Nabooru.

"Shut up!" Link said, and Sheik laughed before hanging up.

* * *

Midna was still sitting on her drum stool, staring at the triforce symbol on her hand, still spooked that a Hylian legend had appeared on the back of her hand. _Oh Mommy . . . why couldn't I have just stayed in the Twilght Realm with you? Then this never would have happened! I've been tainted!_ What if it meant she could never go home? What if it meant she was slowly turning into a light being and would only be able to live in the light, and if she ever went into the Twilight Realm, she'd become a spirit like everyone in Hyrule would?

She was terrified.

Shadow was busy staring at Vio's hand. They sat on the couch next to each other. Red was busy mixing something up in a mixing bowl in the kitchen. Apparently he cooked when he was nervous. Or happy. Or . . . well, right now he was nervous.

Blue was zonked in the easy chair next to the TV, sprawled over it, snoring slightly. Green was busy poking his face to see what he would respond to. So far, nothing.

Malon sat on the other side of the couch from Vio and Shadow, sipping lemonade that Red had made fresh. She was extremely confused. She'd heard of the triforce, of course, but that was about it, and now she heard that the freaking _princess of Hyrule_ was coming to their house. _How the heck did I end up meeting two princesses in so short a time? I'm a nobody!_

Suddenly something smashed into the front door, followed by a muffled, "Oooooow . . ."

Red put down his mixing bowl and rushed to open the door. Sheik was outside. "Sorry!" said Red, "We keep the door locked at all times . . ."

"It's okay . . ." Sheik rubbed his face and nose gingerly and walked in. "Should have known." Then he stared at his hand intently.

"What is it?" Shadow asked after a few silent moments of anticipation.

"It's funny . . ." Sheik responded with confusion. "There's three people here with triforce symbols, me, Vio, and Midna. They should be pulsing right now since we're so close together, but . . . mine's not. Is yours, Midna?"

"What do you mean by pulsing?" Midna asked.

"Like, shining, or trembling, or burning, like, ANYTHING!"

". . . Itching?"

Sheik sighed. "That doesn't count. Vio, come here." Sheik walked over to Midna, and Vio climbed up from the couch to join them. They held their fists out to compare their marks. "What is going on?" Sheik asked no one in particular.

The others crowded around the three. "What's up, Sheik?" Shadow asked.

"Well . . . I . . . it looks like we have three separate pieces of the Triforce all right. I have the one on the right, Vio's got the one on the left, and Midna's got the top, but . . . if I'm not mistaken, Midna's is . . . _upside down_."

There were surprised sounds and gasps all around. "Is it a different triforce?" Green asked curiously.

"I don't think so," Sheik said. "There's only one Triforce, isn't there? I mean, in Hyrule. Lorule has one, but it's been lost forever. And Midna isn't FROM Lorule, so how can it be she's got it?"

"Didn't you say once," Vio said, sounding very bored—the triforce was the most boring topic for him, "that you can earn pieces of the triforce through bravery?"

Sheik nodded. "Or through bloodlines or by taking it by force."

Midna waved her hands emphatically, almost hitting the others in the faces in her haste. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! I didn't steal anything! And I didn't do any brave stuff and I don't have any Lorulean grandparents!"

"Then why?" Sheik wondered.

The sound of a car coming to a stop outside reached their ears. "Who could that be?" Red asked, slightly suspicious.

"I invited Link," Sheik said apologetically. "I didn't think to ask. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Red said understandingly. "This is all very strange." Red went to open the door again. Link and Nabooru came inside as Granny Kotake vroomed-putted off in the family car.

As soon as Link crossed the threshold, he cried out loudly, and so did Shadow, and so did Midna. "Oooooow my HAND!" Link cried.

"MY HAND!" Shadow yelled. "GAAAAAAAH!"

Midna was shouting. "IT BURNS, SHEIK, IT BURNS, THAT'S YOUR ANSWER!"

A light was emanating from all three of their hands. Shadow was scrabbling with his glove, almost ripping it in half as he pulled it off. Malon stifled a gasp at the burn scars, but composed herself quickly.

After a moment the effects seemed to die down to where they were actually bearable.

"I think my hand is numb," Link complained.

Link, Midna, and Shadow gathered together, with Sheik grabbing at their hands. "I don't believe this! You guys have triforce pieces, too!"

Link and Shadow glanced at each other.

"It must have just happened tonight, that's why we didn't see the marks sooner," Sheik continued. "I wonder why now, though?" Sheik's brow furrowed with worry as he looked at each triforce bearer in turn. "I've never read of a time when both triforces appeared together. This could be really bad . . . Midna, you own the bottom piece of Lorule's triforce, the triforce of power. Link, you have the triforce of courage, and Shadow . . . you have the triforce of wisdom, like me."

"Holy cow," Shadow whispered.

"triforce of POWER?" Midna said. "I've heard stories about those people! They always try to take over Hyrule and destroy stuff! Are you telling me I'm the VILLAIN?!"

Sheik shook his head firmly. "No. It's true that the triforce of power from the _Hyrulean_ triforce has been in possession of evil men, but that's not what its purpose is or ever was. It depends on who is using it, and why. It's just easy to get corrupted by power because it's so . . . absolute."

"Well that's just peachy. I get the hard triforce piece and I'm not even Hyrulean, much less Hylian! Is there some way I can get rid of it?!"

"I wouldn't be so hasty," Sheik said, placing a hand on Midna's wrist. "I know it's weird, Midna, and I don't get it, either, but I think right now we should just . . . just figure out exactly what's going on!"

Midna sighed. "I guess . . . so what's up with your triforce?"

Sheik looked at his own triforce symbol. "I know I have the triforce of wisdom, and Vio has the triforce of courage."

"So who has the triforce of power?"

"I . . . don't know. But we need to find them. Fast."

* * *

Ganondorf lay on his cot, hands behind his head. The back of his right hand had been bothering him all week and he had no idea why. _Probably caught some skin disease from the terrible conditions in here_. He hadn't spoken to a doctor about it. Why would he? You couldn't even get treatments in here, anyways, and going to the doctor would only draw attention to himself, something he really wanted to avoid as the only gerudo he knew of in here.

He had been unable to sleep. Every time he tried, his hand would begin to itch horrifically again. This went on until finally the lights turned on, signifying morning, and he got out of bed. His irritated hand caught his eye and he held it up. Behind all the irritated skin, he saw the symbol of the triforce, with the top filled in.

 _Well that's interesting_ . . .


	43. Chapter 43

AN: Hopefully the length of this chapter will make up for not updating as regularly as before. I think that may be more what I do now, longer updates but longer wait in between. I want the story to keep moving steadily, so I think this will help.

This is my first time using a Word document rather than just copy-pasting, so sorry if formatting is different/weird. I may have to update the same chapter to get it right, so heads up.

I am not an expert on gender dysphoria, please do not take my word for it. I did do some research and I have experience with people who have it, but that absolutely DOES NOT give me any real clout in what I'm saying. Hopefully this just inspires some of you to look it up yourselves and maybe more open to people who experience it ^^

ROFLCOPTER: ERMERGERD I know, right? Thanks for writing!

him: Thanks so much for commenting! I'm so glad you think the chapter worked well ^^ And HAHAHA I hope every day I'm not racist. I do my best to not have racist stereotypes for characters, but I'm not in any way perfect I don't think. Thanks for your feedback on the format of year 2, as well. I'll wait and see if anyone else has any more suggestions, but I'm kinda leaning towards what you're thinking, as well. And OMG, I'm so happy this is one of your favorite LoZ stories! That makes me soo happy :D I hope it continues to be so!

Ignitious gave me the glorious idea of having Midna's sexuality cause problems politically, and I thought that was an AMAZING idea, so I've adapted that idea and we'll see just how it plays out in the coming years, oh ho ho! Thanks Ignitious!

Thanks to everyone for reading, writing, reviewing, favoriting, following, etc.! Ya'll are the best! I love hearing from you!

* * *

Chapter 43

Everyone was sitting in the living room. Link, Nabooru, Shadow, and Vio on the couch, Blue in an easy chair, Sheik sitting on the coffee table, Midna and Malon on the ground, and Green hovering around everybody like a busy bee.

"Let me get this straight." Blue raised a hand, a puzzled look on his face as he tried to wrap his head around what he was being told. He'd slept through the whole discussion about the Triforce symbols appearing out of nowhere, but had been startled awake when Link, Midna, and Shadow all cried out at the same time. "You mean . . . Vio has a piece of the Triforce?"

"Don't sound so incredulous," Vio responded in a monotone, resting his temple on spindly fingers, his other arm wrapped around Shadow's shoulders. He appeared bored, eyes half lidded, but his incessant tapping on Shadow's arm betrayed his racing thoughts.

Shadow was watching Vio closely. "You alright, babe?"

Vio pulled him closer instinctively, but was too distracted to actually say anything.

Hesitatingly, Shadow nodded. "We can talk about it later." He got a nasal sound in response.

Sheik was doing his best to explain things to Blue. "That would seem to be the case, Blue. Vio has the Triforce of Courage."

Blue leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "You mean to tell me he's the mother-f***ing Hero of Time?!" His voice had an angry edge to it, the kind that a parent got when their child was put in a dangerous situation. While to most people Vio was a capable and terrifying nuisance, who didn't care about anyone else and therefore wasn't exactly hero material, to Blue, Vio was a younger brother. His foster brothers were everything to Blue, who didn't see Vio as dangerous, but as different from everyone else, and who had certain challenges socializing, challenges that might be even more difficult if Vio were expected to somehow save the world. How was Vio supposed to be the legendary hero without getting hurt or even dying? He knew the stories. Nobody knew what happened to the heroes after their destinies were fulfilled. Some people said they lived quiet lives, but others said they died of grief or drank themselves to death trying to get over the trauma. Blue was not up for that. Not for his little brother.

All of these thoughts were apparent to Sheik, who had jumped back at Blue's outburst, but now he leaned forward again, gesturing with his hands in a calming way, trying to keep his face gentle. "Now we can't go THAT far yet. He's simply a carrier. And the Hero of Time was just one person, it's not the official title of every holder of the Triforce of Courage. For all we know Vio will be the Hero of unreturned library books!"

Blue scoffed slightly at the amusing thought, not entirely comforted but more than before.

"We really don't know what's going on, Blue. We can't panic yet. That's the last thing we need. As for me . . ." Sheik held his wrist, staring at the Triforce of Wisdom emblazoned on the back of his hand. "I guess I could be the princess of trans rights, or . . . I mean prince." With a sudden conflicted look, he stood up. "Excuse me." He left to the bathroom.

Vio glanced at Shadow, who was examining his own Triforce mark. If what Sheik said was true, then their marks could mean anything, really. Perhaps Shadow would want to raise awareness about heart-related birth defects. He turned to Shadow. "So does that make you the prince of heart attacks?" Nope. That was NOT how he meant that to come out.

Shadow glanced up sharply, slightly in consternation. "What do you mean?"

Vio's heart skipped a beat at Shadow's offense. He looked away quickly to hide his blush. "Nothing. I—it was stupid."

To his surprise, Shadow chuckled. "You're so obvious, Vio."

He felt a hand on his chest as Shadow snuggled himself closer to him. Realizing he couldn't hide his feelings from Shadow any more than he could hide his heartbeat, Vio chanced a look. Shadow's smile was reaching its breaking point, eyes crinkled happily. Vio had no idea what he'd done right, but he felt his face lowering to Shadow's.

A high-pitched voice interrupted them. "OOOOOOOOoooOOOOOOoo!"

Shadow and Vio leapt apart as Green suddenly appeared between them, grinning prankily like only an early teen can. "Vi-o and Sha-dow, sittin' in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N—!"

"Get out of here you little bastard!" Vio's clawed hand shot at him, but Green slipped from his grasp with giggles.

"Cock block, cock block!" Green sang as he ran across the room and to the stairs. "Vio's been cock blocked!"

"THAT'S NOTHING TO BE PROUD OF, YOU BRAT!" Vio got up from the couch, shaking his fist and chasing after Green, who blew a raspberry before charging upstairs. Shadow was too busy laughing his ass off to follow them.

As everyone calmed down, Blue rubbed his face. "Oh GODDESSES, I gotta be at work early tomorrow." He paused and glanced at the clock. "Today."

Red, looking perplexed, walked over and took Blue's arm. "Come on, Blue, it's time for bed. I'll make you some tea that will send you to sleep right away!"

Guided by Red, Blue slowly got to his feet and made his way to the stairs as well. "What I need is a Master Sword to take me back in time a couple of hours. Or a week. Sleeping for a week would be good."

"There's that holiday coming up!" Red said with a strained smile. "You don't have to work then, do you?"

"I guess not."

"Then don't worry! You'll get all rested then." Red released him at the stairs and then turned to the others. "I guess it is pretty late. You're all past curfew—Castle Town has those, yes?"

The others nodded.

Red grinned. "Well, you're welcome to sleep here!"

Most politely declined. Link didn't want to make Granny worry, and he and Nabooru had a ride anyway. "You coming, Shadow?" Link asked as they were out the door. Shadow had been staring up the stairs. He shook his head. "No. I want to make sure Vio's alright with all of this hero business."

Link was puzzled by that, simply because to him Vio seemed perfectly fine, but he figured Shadow knew him better. "I'll let Granny know." And maybe Shadow was worried about the hero business, he suddenly thought. Either way, he obviously felt better being with Vio than at home. Without thinking, Link took Nabooru's hand and they went outside.

Midna and Malon left next. Midna hadn't said a word this entire time, and Malon promised to get her home safe.

Red left to the kitchen, and Shadow remained staring up the stairs. He could hear Vio and Green bickering. He said goodbye to the last stragglers, but something felt missing.

Sheik was still in the bathroom.

* * *

Sobbing. He couldn't stop sobbing, hand over his mouth to mask the noise. He was so afraid, but couldn't bring himself to turn the light on, because then he'd see himself in the mirror.

"What if I've led everyone down this false path?" He spoke breathlessly into his phone, his sweating fingers barely able to hold onto it. "What if I've caused my family all this shame for nothing?"

"Whoa, whoa!" Groose's voice was the only thing keeping Sheik from losing control. "Keep talking. Don't hang up on me, dude."

Sheik got a firmer grip on the phone. "Don't you get it?"

"Tell me what's wrong."

"There's never ever ever ever been a 'prince' of destiny. Not even once! I can't be a man, I'm the freaking princess of destiny, right? Isn't that right?"

"Well . . . I can hear you're really upset."

"My dad was right! What if I'm just sick in the head? What if I'm just a liar, an attention whore, what kind of person does that make me?"

"You've never been that way to me."

Sheik's body forced him to take a huge breath in before he suffocated. "The stress, it has to be the stress—but I have nothing to stress about! I've CAUSED my own stress! I'm the princess, for the sake of Nayru! I have it easy, so why did I do this? Why did I fake my own gender, why would I lie?" He dropped his forehead onto the sink. "Why would I . . ."

"You don't seem crazy to me. You're the most level-headed person I know—"

"But that's just it! What if I've gone crazy?! I wouldn't BE myself if I were crazy, would I? What if I've lost myself? What if I'm GONE?"

"Z. I'm coming over."

"But I'm not at home . . ."

"Where, then?"

Sheik told him.

"Okay. Don't move. And don't . . . don't do anything stupid until I get there."

"Stupid . . . what do you mean . . . stupid?"

"I'm almost to the car, keep talking. What are you feeling?"

"I don't know! Confused, alone, afraid . . . filthy . . ."

"You feel filthy? Why? You're not—why? Why do you feel filthy?"

"I feel numb all the time because my body doesn't feel right, and if I don't shut it out, it feels so gross and—and, but, what, I'm, I'm a girl and s-s-s-so I-I-I should feel okay, right? Cuz I hav-ve a girl's . . . body. I should feel fine. In my body. It's a good body, there's nothing wrong with it! Tell me I should be happy with this body, tell me . . . tell me . . . Oh Gods."

"What?"

"I think I'm going to be sick." Sheik spun and went to his knees, his phone dropping to the ground. He grabbed the toilet seat and hurled.

There was a knock on the door. "Sheik! You alright?" It was Shadow.

"Probably food poisoning!" Sheik yelled back. "I'll be alright."

"Can I get you anything?"

"No, I'm good. Just gimme a minute."

His phone had magically remained on despite the tumble. "Sheik? Sheik!"

Sheik wiped his mouth. Instead of picking the phone up, he turned it on speaker. "Here," he said miserably. "You . . . you called me Sheik."

"Are you okay? You should maybe lie down."

Sheik didn't want to maneuver to the ground, and he felt he might throw up again, so he just stayed leaning against the damn toilet. "I'm good."

"Okay, I'm glad."

"Oh God . . . I feel . . . so sick . . ."

"So the stars look really nice tonight. Have you seen them? They're like little bomb sparks waiting to blow up."

"Why are you talking about stars?"

"Distracting you."

"Oh."

Groose kept up the light talk for fifteen minutes, occasionally breaking off if he heard Sheik beginning to sob again to ask him what was wrong.

Eventually he heard the voice on the phone match the voice outside. The front door opened, and there were footsteps and finally, "Hey! It's me!"

Relief washed through Sheik as he forced himself to stand and unlock the door. He about fell right into Groose's arms once the door was open enough for him to slip through. Groose held onto him with strong arms. Shadow stood nearby, asking nervous questions that Sheik didn't have the energy to answer. He felt so ugly. He'd just thrown up for goodness sake. He couldn't look at anybody, least of all Groose, whose shirt he was currently filthying up real good. "Get me out of here," he begged quietly.

"I'll drive him home," Groose said confidently to Shadow. "Don't worry!"

Shadow felt useless. Deep inside he knew this wasn't just food poisoning. "Sheik, you know you can talk to me . . ." He placed a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Not now, Shadow," Sheik said, his voice muffled.

"Do you want me to come with you and Groose?"

"No. Please . . . no. He's just driving me home."

Shadow looked at Groose, who minutely shook his head at Shadow. There was no way he'd be leaving Sheik alone. "Call me if anything changes."

"I will," Sheik said, but Shadow was looking at Groose. Groose nodded, again minutely.

Shadow was conflicted about whether he should go with them or not until the front door shut behind them, and then until he heard the car rev up and drive away.

He sighed. Everyone was a mess. He'd noticed Midna's silence. She'd never been silent for longer than a minute the entire time Shadow'd known her. Then there was Vio, who pretended to be fine and had likely forgotten about it for now, but Shadow knew as soon as the house was quiet that Vio would obsess over it. Then there was Blue, who didn't want Vio to be in danger, and Sheik was beaten down about something . . . what was happening to them all? And then there was Link. What was Link thinking about all of this? They'd inherited the power of Lorule. He'd never thought about it, but it could be possible that their dad had been from Lorule. It was impossible to tell unless they went to the foster care facility where their dad spent most of his life. Maybe the people there would know where their dad came from.

He stared at the back of his hand. What was this crap?

The stairs creaked. Shadow looked up. Vio was paused halfway up the stairs. Shadow sent him a questioning look. Vio smiled slightly and lightly descended the steps. "I have someone to show you." He led Shadow to the hidden door in the back of the stairs that led to the basement lab.

When they reached the bottom of the steps, Vio jaunted over to a basket in a corner that was filled with blankets. He lifted a tiny furball from it. "I removed his cast today. He's completely better now."

Shadow broke into a grin and knelt down next to the basket. The kitten mewed softly as Vio handed him to Shadow. "Oh my gosh! You did it, Vio! Aaaw, he's so cute!" Shadow giggled as the kitten kept bumping his wet nose against Shadow's chin, trying to reach his nose.

Vio smiled, a real smile. He was happy that Shadow was happy, though he still didn't understand why anyone should care about a kitten. "I was thinking we could call him Murphy. Like Murphy's law."

"Murphy. I like it. What up, Murf?" Murphy responded with a short mew. Shadow giggled again.

Vio felt himself longing for the ability to feel in the way Shadow did. He looked and sounded so happy, the kitten cuddling against him curiously. Why couldn't Vio feel like that? And why couldn't it be something that wasn't cutting up animals or tricking people, which really only made him feel less bored? Was he doomed to never feel happy?

He caught Shadow looking at him with concern, and put on his stoic mask.

"Are you okay?" Shadow asked.

Vio gave a small nod.

". . . It's that you're not happy, isn't it?"

The mask cracked.

"I know it makes you angry when you can't hide from me, but there's nothing to be scared of. I'm not going to stop caring about you."

He didn't move, but a tear fell from behind his glasses.

"Babe . . ." Shadow got up, the kitten still in his arms, and he walked over to Vio, kneeling back down when he was beside him. He bent down trying to look up into Vio's face, and waited for Vio to look at him. "It's going to be okay, Vio."

The kitten leaned out from Shadow's arms, nose twitching, and tried to reach Vio's face. He mewed.

Vio looked at the kitten, who wriggled himself so quickly that he was now extending himself far too much out of Shadow's arms and either Shadow had to grab him or Vio did because he was about to fall to the cement ground.

Vio got to him first. The kitten snuggled himself into Vio's shirt, looking up at him with one blue, one brown eye, both large and curious. He used his baby claws to climb up his shirt before Vio could stop him, and he arched his back under Vio's chin.

"I think Murphy likes you, too," Shadow said.

"Is that what this means?" Vio asked with slight, half-hearted irritation.

Murphy mewed.

Shadow scratched the kitten's ears as Vio kept having to adjust his arms to the kitten's newfound energy. "Sooo . . . how are you on this whole Triforce thing?"

"I don't like being controlled," Vio answered through a mouth full of fur. "Puh! Get out of my face you little fuzz ball!" Shadow laughed. "And I don't like things being decided for me. Why don't I get to decide whether I WANT to be this stupid hero?"

"Sheik said you can get rid of the piece, I think. Give it to somebody else."

"Why would I do that? PUH! Okay. Seriously. Murphy." Vio grabbed the kitten in both hands and pulled him away from his face. "Calm down! The Triforce is full of power. It MUST be studied. I just wish I had gotten it myself and not through some sort of birth right. Don't they keep a record of the hero's bloodline? I must have been born under a bus."

"I dunno, but . . . we'll get through it together. Right?"

"Yeah . . . but we have to escape Murphy first."

* * *

Midna stared into her milkshake, watching the chocolate chips slowly descend into the disintegrating whipped cream and into the melting ice cream.

"Still no better?" The melodic voice belonged to Malon. After leaving Vio's apartment, Midna was in no mind to go to her home, which Malon didn't question, just brought her to her workplace, the Milk Bar. Malon had given her a nice, quiet corner (as quiet as could be expected in a bar devoted to music), ordered her some food, which Midna picked at, and then a milkshake, in between working the bar.

Midna shook her head. "I'm sorry about this."

Malon shrugged. "Don't worry about it. We've all got days when we don't want to go home. I know I don't like going home."

Midna looked up. "Why's that?"

"My uncle, the big-nose that's running the bar right now? He's a jerk. And he's always drunk, and when he's not drunk, he's a menace. Plus my dad's in jail, so except for my crazy uncle, nobody's ever home. It's always empty. Usually I sleep in the barn with the horses more than I sleep in my bed."

"Jeez."

Malon sat down. "So now you. Why don't you want to go home?"

Midna felt a fear-induced flush on her cheeks. She scratched at the Triforce symbol on her hand. "Most people don't know this . . . but you remember how I said I'm the Twilight Princess?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, my status in the Twilit Kingdom is pretty shaky right now."

"What'cha mean?"

"I've been in Hyrule since I was a kid. Because of that, the Twilight Council had to rule for me until I come of age. They council hates me. When I take control, they lose their power in Hyrule. They've failed in brainwashing me to their views, so the last few years they've been bad mouthing me to my people, trying to make me look bad to justify dethroning me. Too many of my people liked me, though. They liked my politics, they liked my friendly relationship with the Royal Family of Hyrule, they liked that I got into a prestigious school renowned for its courses in politics. Everything was fine and I was set to become the princess by popular vote, if nothing else." She sighed and sank down further in her seat. "But then Sheik came out as transgender. The Twili are afraid of anything controversial. I mean most of them couldn't care less that Sheik is transgender, what they don't like is that Sheik is being attacked by the press and by his own people, and afraid that I chose to be friends with him rather than be on his father's side. My people are scared that my friendship with Sheik will put them in jeopardy . . . and they may be right, if things end badly for Sheik. We're a minority, and nobody trusts us because of our background as children of criminals who were banished from Hyrule ages ago."

"And so now a lot of people are saying you shouldn't be princess because you're friends with Sheik?"

Midna nodded. "Yeah. I still thought I'd be fine . . . but then the council changed their game. Instead of outright dethroning me, they've decided they'll let me ascend, but only if I marry one of their members. This guy named Zant."

Malon did a double take. "WHAT?! You mean . . . an ARRANGED MARRIAGE?!"

"Yep."

"OF ALL THE MEDIEVAL CRABTRAP!"

"It's a powerful move, though," Midna said, her voice betraying hopelessness. "A large percentage of my people still love me, but enough of them are unsure about me being princess that the idea of me marrying a council member would put them at ease. At least I wouldn't be TOTALLY unaccountable, right? And it would show I still considered being their princess as my top priority, rather than my friendship with Sheik. At the same time the Twili who hate me would be appeased because they would feel that the council had control of me."

"But you'd be in a horrible marriage ya don't want. Do ya even know this Zant person?"

"Guy."

Malon sputtered. "But—but—but!"

"I know. Worse? He's the whiniest, most repulsive control freak I've ever known. We grew up together."

"Sounds like a real charmer," Malon said sarcastically, putting her forehead in a hand. "But why do you gotta marry him? What happens if you don't?"

Again, Midna sighed. "I didn't think I'd have to. I figured I'd refuse and just wait to see what happened and hope for the best, but now . . ." She glanced at the Triforce symbol on her hand. "Now they'll really think I've betrayed them."

"Shoot . . . because that's a symbol from the Light World, right? That's what you were saying before."

Midna nodded. "It doesn't matter that I didn't choose this, that I have idea what it is or that I'd do ANYTHING to get it off me! They're going to see it as me being a traitor, as abandoning my people. I HAVE to do something to make them see that isn't it."

"Holy crap on a cow!" Malon had her forehead in both of her hands now. "And I don't suppose ya could, ya know, marry a lady Twili?"

Midna smiled in a melancholy way. "Homosexuality isn't accepted in Hyrulean culture very widely yet. There's no way that would be accepted as an act of good faith."

Malon felt her eyes tearing up. "What about someone who isn't Zant?"

"I . . . I MIGHT be able to pull that off. The trouble is whether I can fend off both the council and the Twili that want me off the throne, because they'll only be happy if I marry Zant or someone else who's in the council's pocket."

"Where there ya go! You know in Hyrulean culture we used to do these things called balls. Where you dress up and dance and go meet other people to date and stuff. Maybe you could stall everybody. Maybe you could say, 'hey, I'm willing to marry a Twili, I'm really looking, look, I'm going to all these Twili balls and stuff,' and maybe you'll be able to find a Twili guy you can . . . you can work with. Or at least be compatible. Maybe even one that's asexual so you don't have to worry about . . . that. Someone you can trust. One who's on your side."

Now Midna was started to tear up. "I . . . I really hope so, Malon!" She started to cry.

* * *

"It's called gender dysphoria," Groose was saying. He was laying on Sheik's bed, with Sheik laying against him feeling and looking miserable. They were both staring at a laptop Groose had in his lap, using it to look up Sheik's feelings on different websites devoted to transgender issues. "When you feel like you're not a girl even though your body is shaped like a girl's. That's what it says here."

"I had no idea other people felt the same way as me," Sheik said in wonder. All of the symptoms were there: stress, anxiety, depression, fear of puberty, wanting a body of the preferred gender, not wanting to look at themselves in the mirror, feeling disgusted with their body parts that don't match their gender. "So it doesn't mean I'm crazy. It just means I . . . I really am transgender. I really am a boy!" The relief Sheik felt made tears fall down his face again. He sat up and crossed his legs. "I'm not crazy. I really am a boy . . ."

Groose smiled. "I'm glad you're feeling better about that, Z—I mean Sheik."

Sheik glanced at him with a curious expression. "Why did it take you so long to call me Sheik, anyway? I mean it's never seemed an issue with you before."

Groose blushed and sat up as well, setting the laptop aside. "Well . . . it's kind of complicated, actually."

"Tell me."

"I guess I never called you Sheik because I never really understood that names could be . . . well . . . gendered." He shrugged, an obvious blush on his cheeks.

"Not gendered?" Sheik couldn't help but laugh. "But of course they are, nobody names a boy Zelda or a girl Groose!"

Groose shrugged again, smaller. Sheik forced himself to stop laughing. "I don't know," Groose said, completely serious. "I just never understood why that is. Names don't have . . . parts. They're not even people, so how can they have a gender? And also, clothes, and hair, and colors . . . why do those things get gendered?"

Now it was Sheik's turn to shrug. "I guess it makes things and people easier to label? It makes it so people can relate to each other, girls to other girls with similar hairstyles, maybe?"

"I guess I've just never seen it that way."

"Well how DO you see it?"

"Basically, you were always Zelda. That didn't mean boy or girl to me. It just meant . . . Zelda. That's you. That's who you are. It doesn't matter to me whether you are a girl or a boy, just as long as you are you, and growing up that was always Zelda—no, not Princess Zelda, not Zelda the GIRL or even Zelda the BOY. Just Zelda."

It took several minutes for Sheik to process all of this. "So when you call me Zelda, it's not calling me a girl, or remembering the girl you grew up with. You're just calling me Zelda because that's the name you got to know me by."

"Yeah, exactly. It doesn't matter that you identify as a man now, because I never connected your name to your gender in the first place."

"Wow." Sheik was blown away. All this time he thought Groose was just not ready to accept transgenderism and that was why he called him Zelda, and the truth was Groose just didn't view gender the same way as everyone else did. "So how do you identify, Groose? Boy, girl, or something else?"

Groose blinked at him with confusion. "I'm Groose."

"Well, yeah, but . . . genderwise?"

Groose still looked completely lost. "I don't know. I'm Groose. I don't know what gender people would put on me."

"Everybody acts like you're a boy."

"Okay, but what does that mean?"

Sheik chuckled. "Well it means you . . . you know . . ." he gestured at Groose's pants.

Groose also glanced at them, then glanced up. "Yeah, but you got girl parts and you're not a girl, so why would that make me a boy?"

Sheik was still chuckling. "Oh my gosh, you're right . . . that's really confusing."

"Look, I'll show you." He picked up the laptop again and navigated to a website that had something called the 'genderbread human.' It had a gradient, and on one side it said male, and the other side it said female. "This is kinda how it is for me. Gender is a spectrum. Nobody's completely male or female—whatever that is. Okay, maybe SOME people are completely male or female, but most of us are in the middle. It's like . . . there's white and black, but there's TONS of grey in between. Most people are grey. And everybody is so different it seems silly to me to label everyone only 'boy' or 'girl' when there are so many variations between them. It would be like saying all people with boobs must be named Mary, and all people with a dick must be named Henry. That's stupid. Or saying that all diseases are the same and don't require different diagnoses—"

"HAHAHAHA gender isn't a disease!"

"—but you get what I mean? What's with this limited labeling nonsense. Why do I have to be JUST a boy or JUST a girl, why can't I be both? Or neither?"

"I get what you're saying. That's very interesting. And I guess . . . I guess, if I really knew what gender was, I'm sure there would be female parts of me, my brain, or something that I wouldn't mind keeping. I mean I'm all over that pink stuff."

Groose grinned. "Right?! Pink is a great color!"

"But color is a really simplified example. We as a society don't really understand what gender is, do we?"

Groose shook his head cheerfully. Then he said, seriously, "But I respect that gender is a BIG deal to you, and obviously you know that you are a boy."

Sheik shrugged. "I've got no problem with that. I can know I'm a boy while not really understanding entirely what that is. Nobody knows who they are entirely. We don't even know how the body works but we still know we're alive and that we're Hylians!"

"I failed SOOOO hard in anatomy . . ."

Sheik shuddered. "That class was so hard . . . So . . . I know to you it doesn't matter, but to most everyone else it does, and it really does matter to me, so—"

"I'll call you Sheik from now on. Don't worry."

"Well I mean . . ." Sheik considered. Suddenly it didn't bother him so much, all the times Groose had called him Zelda. "I guess when we're alone I don't mind."

Groose grinned. "That would mean a lot. Just to know it's still you and you're not changing into someone else. I know it's stupid—"

"It's not stupid! You told me you identify as Groose. Names are very important to you. And I kinda like it now that I know why you call me Zelda."

Groose was hunkered down, arms folded, a shy grin on his face. "Thanks . . . Zelda."

"A boy named Zelda. Gee, if everybody thought like you I wouldn't have to legally change my name!"

"That would be helpful."

Sheik punched Groose in the arm. "You're a good . . . a good person, Groose." He had been going to say 'friend,' but . . . that didn't sound right. And then he'd been going to say 'guy,' but obviously that didn't exactly fit.

Groose grinned. "Finally! Maybe I'm making up for all those stalkery middle school love letters?"

"Hmmmm . . . maaaaaybe." Then in a serious voice, Sheik said, "Thanks for coming to get me. You didn't have to do that."

"Sure I didn't, but I care about you. A lot. Anybody who cares about you would have done that. You deserve to be treated right."

"Well . . . thanks. And you can stay here, if you want. I don't want you to get caught by the police on the drive back."

"Alright then, I think I will." Groose put the laptop away and lay back on the bed.

Sheik lay on the bed next to him, putting his head on Groose's chest. He felt Groose wrap an arm around him, and with their bodies so close, he felt he had to ask, "You really don't care if I'm shaped like a boy or a girl?"

Groose grinned confidently. "Nope!"

"You . . . you still think I'm attractive?"

"Yep! You're the one I like, Zelda."

Sheik gave a tiny smile to himself. "Good. I . . . I like you, too."

* * *

Nabooru's grannies dropped Link off at his home, and he gave Nabooru a kiss on the cheek before he left. Ever the gentleman. He made his way through the front yard and to the door, which he opened and went inside.

He yawned.

"Link, is that you?" A soft voice said from the kitchen. Link walked in and saw granny looking very tired.

"Yeah," he said. "Sorry, Grandma. I didn't mean to be out so late."

She smiled. "It's alright, dear. I'm glad you're spending time with your friends. Do you remember when you didn't want to leave the house at all, on your first day of school? You were so worried about Aryll."

Link thought back. "You're right." He grinned. "Aryll's been doing so good, though!"

"I'll bet she can't wait to hear about your adventures."

"Yeah . . ." He knew he had to keep working, to raise money so they could pay for Aryll's care worker to keep coming. He didn't mind. Not one bit! Anything for his little sister.

"But where's Shadow?" Granny interrupted his thoughts.

"Oh! He staying over at Vio's."

"I worry about that boy. I know he's not used to living here yet, and he misses his father, but I'm afraid he's going to get into trouble."

Link walked around the counter to the fridge to get something to eat. "I think Shadow knows what he's doing. I mean, he's smart, so even if he gets into a little trouble he's smart enough to know how to come out. And who to ask for help. Don't worry, Grandma." When Granny didn't respond, Link looked around the fridge door at her. And realized the hand on the handle was the one with the Lorulean Triforce on it, and she could see it. He remembered how religious and smart his grandmother was. She knew what the symbol meant. She also probably knew it was Lorulean, and not Hyrulean. He went back to looking at food, pulled out a plate of leftovers Granny had made for him, and then closed the fridge door and put the food in the microwave as if nothing had occurred.

"Oh . . ." he heard Granny whisper. "My sweet, brave boy . . ." She knew everything. He didn't have to explain. Still, he didn't want to look at her and see the sorrow he knew would be there. Like when Blue heard that Vio was the hero, only a million times worse because it was Granny, not Blue. Bad things happened when the Triforce pieces appeared. He pulled the food from the microwave, sat at the counter, and began to fork as much food into his mouth as possible, partly out of nerves but mostly out of hunger.

He felt Granny's tiny hand squeeze his arm. He finally looked at her, and not a hint of worry was betrayed on her face. She smiled. "I will be brave as well, my dear. I love you."

Link grinned gratefully. "I love you, too, Grandma. You're the best grandma anyone could ever ask for!" He put down his fork so he could hug her.

"Oooh," Granny cooed, and patted his back. "There's more leftovers in the fridge if you're still hungry."

"Thanks, Grandma."

"Don't be shy. Eat them up!"

"I will, don't worry."

* * *

AN: Phew! Heavy chapter. Congrats on making it to the end!


	44. Chapter 44

**A/N:** Hey everyone! It's been a while. This isn't a super long chapter but I hope you enjoy it anyways.

Thank you so much to all of the reviewers! You all have been great :) and I loved every one. I PMed the ones with accounts, as usual (I hope all of them? IF NOT PM ME AND I WILL RESPOND BECAUSE I AM SORRY), but I'll answer the other ones here.

I should also state my policy on flames, too, shouldn't I? I got one a few weeks ago, and a couple negative reviews since then. First of all, I'm okay if you don't like my story. As long as you keep your words somewhat civil and don't use inappropriate language like "kill yourself," I don't mind. As soon as you write trollish or bullying or hateful crap . . . I am a grownup, and in grownup land, that doesn't fly. You get fired for that crap and I will fire your review straight into the trash. Your review will be edited or deleted entirely. You have been warned. I know a lot of writers don't do it this way, but I do not tolerate disrespect on ANY level.

As always, thanks for the reads, faves, reviews, follows and etc. my wonderful readers! Have a great day!

Okay the rest is just responses to reviews, so feel free to skip if you'd like!

 **him:** I actually don't remember if I responded to you in the last chapter, my gosh it's been a while . . . but anyway, thanks so much for the review and for reading my story! I can completely understand what you're saying so don't worry about the grammar or anything like that, I'm just so glad you took time to review my story! And yeah, I wanted Granny to be tough as nails, since eventually she kinda is in the games, and I really love Molly Weasley in the Last Harry Potter book and I kind of wanted to portray some of that with Granny. Plus Granny knows showing weakness will make Link worry, and right now she wants him at his best, so like in the game, she's gonna be STRONG like him and Aryll.

The reason you didn't see your previous review is because I hadn't moderated it yet :$ Usually I get to reviews pretty quickly, but it's been a crazy bunch of months for me. Sorry about that, thanks for trying twice!

 **Guest:** No, I'm a smart 26-year-old college student who doesn't use tumblr because that thing is confusing. #noseriouslythoughIfeellikeI'meighty

What is virtue signaling? That's a new one. And believe me, I am an oppressor. I'm white and I'm pretty dang well off. Welcome to real life, kid.

And um . . . you must not know LoZ lore very well, because Gerudos ARE oppressed, and the fairies haven't been a huge part of the last few games. Logically, I took that in the direction of them slowly disappearing as Hyrule descends into a modern age which, like our own, tends to be less religious (and in this case, magical). And getting locked away into another dimension is pretty much the definition of oppression, soooooooo I don't know where you're coming from with Midna and the Twili, either . . .

Sorry my story 'triggers' your anti-tumblr and virtue signalling, er, things so much. I mean I don't really know what else to say.

 **A Random Faggot:** Oh child . . . five months may seem a million years to you, but when you're my age, it passes like a waterfall into an abyss.

* * *

Chapter 44

The most delicious smell wafted underneath the door. It was a few more seconds before it reached Sheik's nose, and he opened his eyes. "Paaaaaaancakes?"

His mother's voice yelled through the door, "Up and at 'em, Sheiky poo!"

It was that moment Sheik realized he had forgotten to shut the door all the way last night, and with his room—or rather, who was in it—on immediate display, his mother pushed the door open with a foot and marched in, tray in hand. A pancake platter, eggs, bacon, orange juice, strawberry shortcake . . .

Sheik prayed to every God and Goddess he knew that his mother wouldn't be SO shocked by Groose that she dropped all that precious food . . .

It was too early in the morning to worry about what this looked this. Sheik leapt out of bed, dislodging Groose so powerfully that the giant cried out and fell off the bed. "DON'T DROP THE FOOD!" He glanced back at Groose's confused, sleepy head rising from behind the bed. Then he looked back at his mother. "IT'S NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE! I MEAN—" It was exactly what it looked like, except they hadn't had sex.

His mother was silent for a moment—the tray still in her hands, goddesses be praised, then she grinned.

"You . . . you already knew?!" Sheik asked.

His mother laughed smugly, a sort of "ho ho ho!" sound as she set the tray on the bed, which Sheik could now see had settings for two. He blushed. "Gee, thanks, Mama."

"Hello Mrs. Harkinian!" Groose said sheepishly with a signature grin.

"Hello young Groose," Sheik's mother replied, giggling. "I expected to see someone in this room at some point, but I have to be honest, you were last on the list!"

Groose scratched his head. "Sorry . . ."

"Oh don't be sorry, I'm just surprised, is all. You must have matured a lot to end up friends with my son."

This only made Groose's face flush harder and he half hid under the bed. "You knew about the crazy letters."

"Mm-hm!" Mrs. Harkinian said cheerily, which made it a thousand times freakier.

Groose gulped. Then he looked at Sheik, who was smiling bigger than he'd seen in a while. He thought about this, then realized, "Mrs. Harkinian, you called him son! Does that mean you support him?"

Mrs. Harkinian. "Of course I do. I'm his mother. That's what mother's do. We've never had a prince of destiny, but if he were going to be one he would have the mark by now, so it's clear he's simply a prince, haha!" You could hear the relief in her voice. Then she waved a hand. "I don't mean that badly, by the way, I just . . . why are you two looking at each other like that?" Suddenly she became serious.

Sheik said nothing and held out his right hand, palm downward so his mother could see the Triforce symbol with the Wisdom part filled in.

Mrs. Harkinian's mouth opened and she rushed over and took his hand, staring at the symbol in disbelief, then at Sheik. Her eyebrows crossed together while her eyes remained wide. "You are . . . the prince of destiny. And . . . have you sensed the others? Have the nightmares started?"

"Nightmares? No . . . I thought the hero must be Link, but it turned out to be Vio."

"Isn't that Shadow's boyfriend?"

Sheik nodded. "We don't know who has the Triforce of Power," he grimaced and glanced away, "but I think we have a pretty good idea."

"Ganondorf Dragmire," his mother spoke his thoughts, releasing his hand.

Sheik nodded. "But there's more."

"What?"

Taking a moment, Sheik furrowed his brow and paused. "There's . . . another Triforce. From Lorule?"

Mrs. Harkinian nodded.

"It showed up, too."

His mother paled. "At the same time?" She walked a few paces away with her hand over her mouth.

Groose knelt by the bed, head cocked to one side curiously, hair all over the place on his head.

"Who?" Mrs. Harkinian asked.

"That's the funny thing," Sheik replied. "Link turned out to be the courage holder, and his brother Shadow the wisdom holder, and of all things . . . Midna, the Twilight Princess was the holder of power."

"That's impossible . . . Midna isn't even Hylian, much less Lorulian."

"But they do share the Dark World—well, in a way. Neither of their worlds are of light."

"Do you think this has to do with our visitor from the Shadow Realm?"

"I know it does. It has to."

Mrs. Harkinian removed her hand from her mouth and turned half back around. "We need to gather the sages, as well as the leaders of all the other kingdoms—especially Lorule. Nothing but ill can come of this."

"Gee, Mama, you're starting to scare me—"

He was cut off by Mrs. Harkinian, who rushed and threw her arms around him. "You need to be brave. I love you, son, but I will not hide from you. This will be difficult, and you may lose everyone you care about, that's . . . what happened to my mother, and her mother before her."

"Everyone I care about?" Sheik repeated quietly, silently remembering he had no grandparents, or uncles or aunts for that matter, not from his mother's side. Shaking, his arms wrapped around his mother. _I don't want to lose you, Mom._ Suddenly he pulled away. "No!" He stood up from the bed. "I can't allow it! I WON'T!" He clenched his fists. "There's never been a time when both Triforces appeared simultaneously, and like you said, I'm the first Prince of Destiny, so . . . things have GOT to be different this time." His eyes flashed, and his voiced rumbled. "I will MAKE it so!"

Mrs. Harkinian clasped her hands together, but her eyes remained sad. "I will pray for it, Sheik, with all my heart." She paused, as the next few words were difficult for her to say. "We will need to tell your father."

Sheik's shoulders slumped as he deflated. "Do we HAVE to?"

* * *

Later, when Sheik and Groose were off to school, the senator's wife made her way to the estate's chapel. The inside was fashioned with dark red wood, and so were the pews, and a plush carpet led down the main aisle. At the back of the chapel was a large window that covered almost the entire wall in a half-moon shape. Light flowed from it, since it was still morning. The light was eclipsed by the statue of the Goddesses, each holding their tool of choice, Nayru with her harp, Din with her ribbons, and Farore with her rod.

Mrs. Harkinian stepped closer to the altar upon which the statue stood, her steps slowing until finally she fell to her knees before it, hands clasped to her mouth, her whole body trembling as tears fell down her face. "Most loving Goddesses . . . you know I have tried so hard to obey you, to serve you, to keep order, to rule wisely . . . I have never once complained, but . . ." She lifted her head upward. "Why? Why my child? Why must he go through this, on top of everything else?!" She bowed and placed her palms on the ground. "I'm begging you . . . why . . . please . . . every god of Hyrule and any willing to listen, _please_ . . ." She lifted herself into a kneeling position again, hands beneath her chin, looking up at the ceiling, but staring beyond it to the sky. "Protect my son. Protect my baby . . . please." She closed her eyes and two more tears fell down her cheeks.

She slumped into a heap, face in her hands, and the sobs wracked her body uncontrollably.

* * *

Shadow had slept over at Vio's. He hadn't told Grandma or Link, but he shrugged the thought away and decided he would just tell Link at school. It's not like they didn't know where he was or anything, and it's not like they were his dad and could _control_ him or anything or tell him what to do. He gasped with a flutter of excitement. _Today's visitation day! I get to talk to Dad after school!_

He flipped down the book he'd been reading and got ready for school. His hair was a mess and he didn't have time to do anything with it, so he just put it in a messy ponytail. He sighed. "I really should dye you again." There was still some purple at the very base that hadn't grown out or been entirely washed out yet, but it was a sad, pale color, almost pink.

He grabbed his bag and ran downstairs. "Vio! I'm headed to school, then I visit my dad after, can we meet up after that?"

No one answered, so Shadow assumed Vio was in his lab. He looked around to make sure no one else was in the house, then went into the secret basement. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he found Vio in his purple lab coat, staring at the glowing symbol on his hand. He had been very quiet the night before, and now he had a very intense expression, almost inhuman. "Vio?"

Vio glanced at him, and most, but not all, of the tension left his face. "Oh. Hello, Shadow. Did you sleep alright?"

Shadow grinned. "You know I sleep well when I'm next to you."

Vio's face softened some more, and he gave a small smile. "Me too."

Even more cheerful than before, Shadow said, "So I was just gonna ask if you want to meet up after I meet my Dad this afternoon, since it's visitation day—"

"We should skip school."

"Huh?"

Vio had a strange look on his face. He approached Shadow and caressed the side of his head, then undid his ponytail. "You need to fix this mess. I'll do it for you," he added before Shadow could say anything, and Shadow just stood quietly as Vio laced his fingers through Shadow's hair, brushing through it methodically. It was soothing, and Shadow would have closed his eyes except that he was transfixed by Vio's concerned, beautiful face. As he finished the ponytail, Vio said, "I want to protect you."

Shadow tried to grin, but only managed a half grin. "Don't worry about that, I got the smarts piece of the Triforce!"

"Yes, and those holders always get kidnapped." Vio stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Shadow. "I don't want you getting hurt. I don't want . . . but my . . . my brain . . . I want to protect you. I think you shouldn't be around me right now. You should be around Link, or Sheik, or—or—"

Shadow was taken aback, and he pulled away from the embrace. "What? Why?"

"Because I'm . . . I'm different, you don't know everything about me. I mean I used to hurt animals for fun, and I've been having the most terrible thoughts about—"

"Shut up! I'm not staying away. We're skipping school." Shadow left no room for argument as he turned toward the stairs and began to march up them to the main floor.

Vio took in a deep breath, let it go. The voices inside his head were getting louder and louder . . . he had promised Shadow he wouldn't hurt any more animals, but . . . his curiosity was getting the better of him, and he would do anything to protect Shadow . . . or so he kept telling himself. He also had this need, a nagging feeling of withdrawal, and while normally he could fight it easily, with the unsettling information about the Triforces, he was beginning to lose control.

A feeling crept inside of him that had never been there before. He was afraid. _Me? Afraid? Impossible . . . but . . . I am. Not of being the Hero, not of losing Shadow. No, that's a different fear. This fear is . . . I . . ._

 _I am afraid of myself_.

* * *

"This was a GREAT idea!" Shadow laughed as he nocked an arrow. "I had no idea you were so good at archery!"

"It's a hobby of mine," Vio stated calmly. He watched as Shadow shakily pulled the string back. "Hold up."

"Huh?"

Vio came up behind him and placed his hands over Shadow's. "Hold your arm like this. Keep your eye level with the arrowhead. Your other arm should be like this."

"Gosh this is heavy," Shadow commented. His limbs were beginning to shake from the effort of holding the string back.

"You really should exercise your arms more," Vio commented as he helped Shadow pull the string all the way back. "Now aim," he breathed into Shadow's ear. Shadow tensed. "Get ready . . ." He suddenly let go. "And fire."

Shadow held the position for just long enough to aim again, then let loose. The arrow flew across the field and lodged into the haystack with a target painted on it—not on the target, but in the haystack. Shadow whooped and pumped a fist in the air. "Haha, yeah!" He leapt off the platform to collect his arrow.

Vio felt safe here, at the range. It was where he came to focus when his mind just got too unbearable . . . or when Blue and Red got too damn annoying. He walked over to his own bow, picked it up, and nocked an arrow, expertly pulling it back and releasing.

There was a high-pitched yip by the target. Vio had shot the same target Shadow was headed for. Shadow turned around. "Are you crazy?! Are you trying to kill me?! Oh my gosh! Wait until I get back, stupid!"

Vio stood frozen, eyes wide. _What did I just do?_ He shook it off. _Just a mistake. It was just a mistake._ He watched Shadow as he reached the target, and smirked when his skinny body had trouble pulling the arrow out. He sensed rather than caused his arms to nock another arrow and brought his bow up, calculating. _I could stick his head right to the bullseye._ He gasped, and dropped both his bow and his arrow. "Shadow," he said, his voice shaking. "Get off the range . . . now."

Shadow finally freed his arrow. "Got it!" He trotted back and hefted himself back onto the platform. As soon as he reached Vio, though, Vio violently took several steps back until he hit the wooden wall of the platform. His eyes were wild, mouth steeled shut. "Vio, what's wrong?"

"Stay away. Just go."

"What?"

"I'm going to hurt you. You need to leave."

Shadow's own face steeled. "We talked about this. I know you're different, we both know this, but you can't go through this alone." He began walking toward Vio.

" _Stay back!_ "

"Vio, let me help you!" Shadow reached up to take Vio's face in his hands.

Vio's hand flew up and grabbed Shadow's wrist so hard that Shadow cried out. "I SAID GET AWAY!" He threw Shadow away from him, and Shadow landed hard, nursing his bruised wrist.

"Ow, Vio, what's gotten into you?"

Vio turned and backed toward the door.

Shadow clambered to his feet. "No, you stay here. We need get work through this. _Together!_ "

A decided look came upon Vio's face, and suddenly he ran away, out of the shooting range.

"VIO!" Shadow ran after him. They got to the street, but Vio was already well ahead of him. "Vio! You know I can't run! STOP! V—" He halted, hand over his still-healing heart, coughing. Vio disappeared around a corner. Shadow whispered brokenly after him, "I can't run after you . . ."

* * *

Link waltzed through the front door of his house. "Grandma? Have you heard from Shadow?" He hadn't been there when Link woke up, which didn't worry Link until Shadow didn't show up to school. _Is he still with Vio?_ He recalled Granny and his conversation the previous night about Shadow getting into trouble. _I guess he is under a lot of stress. I wouldn't be surprised if he skipped school, but he's already so behind. I should be a better brother._ Sheik hadn't heard from him, either, though Link noticed he and Groose seemed especially chummy. Midna was subdued, but Nabooru was happy to see him. She flipped her hair a lot. Link liked that.

"What's that, dear?" Granny responded from the living room. "No, I haven't. How was school?"

Link headed straight for the fridge. "It was good."

"LINK LINK LINK!"

He grinned. "ARYLL ARYLL ARYLL!"

"Are you headed to work soon?" Granny asked.

He collected bread, mayo, cheese, meat, and anything else that looked decent to make a sandwich with and piled it onto the counter. "No, Linebeck gave me the day off so I could catch up on homework. I have a test coming up."

"Oh, well, let me know if there's anything I can do to help, Dear."

"I will, don't worry, Grandma."

"Dinner's at six!"

"Got it!"

A few minutes later Grandma and Aryll went on a walk, and Link sat with his masterly crafted sandwich, although considering its size it should be called a grandwich. He pored over his homework, chomping away when the door opened and Shadow came in. Link looked up. "Oh THERE you are! Where've you been?" Link picked up immediately that something was wrong. Shadow looked confused, dazed, out of it. And upset.

 _This is it. Being a better brother starting NOW._ Link set down his sandwich and got off the stool and ran over to Shadow. "You didn't text me back."

Shadow flinched at his voice.

Link stepped closer and asked cautiously, "Are you okay?"

Some of the emotions cleared from Shadow's face. He nodded. "Yeah, I'm . . . okay." He slowly walked past Link to the kitchen.

Link wracked his brains for an idea of what could possibly be up. "Did you and Vio have a fight?"

"Yeah . . ." Shadow somberly crawled onto a kitchen stool, shoulders slumped, rubbing his wrist in a weird way.

Now Link thought of ways of cheering him up. "Are you hungry? I made a sandwich? You want half?"

Shadow shook his head. "Do we have ice cream?"

"Yeah!" Link got to the fridge in a flash and supplied Shadow with a tub of caramel ice cream, which he opened, and a spoon and sat next to him. He watched Shadow pick up the spoon and try to scoop out some ice cream. He grimaced. Then he glanced at Link to see if he'd noticed, and switched hands.

Link wasn't fooled this time. _Better brother_. "Is your hand okay?"

"Yeah, it's just . . . a little bruised. Vio and I were doing archery and I guess I strained myself."

Having just eaten quite a lot of food, Link's lie detectors were quite strong. His eyes narrowed. "Injured doing archery, huh? I'm got some muscle relaxing oil that helped strained muscles, you wanna—"

"No. No, it's fine."

If Link had an antenna, it would be beeping wildly. "Why aren't you telling me the truth?"

"I am, I swear." There was an edge to his voice.

"Why aren't you letting me help you?"

Shadow took a sharp intake of breath. He looked at Link, glassy eyes full of guilt. He looked down. "It . . . I . . . I don't know."

Link scooted his stool closer and cautiously placed a hand on Shadow's back. He leaned close. "It's okay, Shadow, you can tell me."

"We WERE doing archery . . . but then Vio got really weird, and I tried to talk to him about it, but . . ." He didn't seem able to form the words.

Crossing his eyebrows, Link thought hard about what Shadow had revealed so far, then asked carefully, "Did Vio hurt you?"

Shadow was nursing his bruised wrist again. "He . . . threw me on the floor."

Link felt a stabbing sensation in his heart, but he forced himself to stay silent.

"And he yelled at me. 'Stay away!' And then he ran off and I couldn't follow him very far."

"Because of your heart."

"Yeah."

"Well I'm glad you didn't try to keep running. I'm glad you took care of yourself. I'm glad you came home. I'm really really glad you're home."

Shadow finally opened up, everything he'd learned about Vio, from the coldness, the disconnections, the violence toward animals. "Link . . ." he said when he finished. "Why won't he let me help him?"

Pausing to consider, and because he really didn't want to say something the wrong way and hurt Shadow, Link placed a hand on his bruised wrist gently. "I think this is why. I don't know what it is, but there's something going on in Vio's brain that's really destructive, and he wants you out of it."

"But I can _help_."

Link shook his head. "No, Shadow, it's not worth . . . it's not worth you getting hurt. He needs a doctor, a parent, guardian, a—an adult. You can't help, you're too weak right now, and it sounds like he's much stronger than you. We need to tell Grandma."

Shadow teared up. "No Link, please? Keep this between us?"

Link set his jaw.

"Please," Shadow begged. "It was just an accident . . . I know it was just an accident . . . please don't tell anybody else. Promise?"

And so Link made a decision that twisted his stomach, because he was honest, but he knew if he said the wrong thing, Shadow would run away, and right now Link wanted him right here where he was safe. So he lied. "I promise."

* * *

A/N Okay so by now ya'll gotta know how I am with mental illnesses/disorders and representing them. Sociopathy has always fascinated me, and I don't feel we treat it correctly, I don't know if there's a way to yet. Again, if you see anything off or whatever about how I represent it, let me know. I'm writing Vio as though he is aware there is something different and aware that it is not part of him, or at least not everything he's made of. I figured there's no way for him to do what he did in the manga of Four Swords, helping Shadow destroy Hyrule, unless he had a stone cold heart . . . or was a sociopath. Or a really really good spy! I chose sociopath for this story.

 **AND ALSO, IF SOMEONE PHYSICALLY HARMS YOU IN ANY WAY, FIND AN ADULT OR SOMEONE YOU TRUST AND GET HELP IMMEDIATELY!** You can call the police or the Domestic Violence Hotline which will be confidential, meaning they don't have to know who you are: 1-800-799-7233

Cheers!


End file.
